Baker Avenue Asset Management LP Boosts Holdings in Tesla, Inc. $TSLA

Key Points

• Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its Tesla stake by 16.5% in the fourth quarter, buying 13,713 more shares and bringing its total to 97,025 shares worth about $43.6 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutional investors controlling 66.2% of Tesla’s stock. Several large firms, including Vanguard, State Street, and Geode Capital, also added to their positions.
• Tesla’s recent operating and market backdrop looks mixed but constructive: the company beat quarterly EPS estimates and posted 15.8% revenue growth year over year, while analysts currently rate the stock a cautious "Hold" on average with a $395.20 price target.

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP grew its stake in shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Free Report) by 16.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 97,025 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock after purchasing an additional 13,713 shares during the period. Tesla makes up about 1.0% of Baker Avenue Asset Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP's holdings in Tesla were worth $43,634,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Tesla by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 258,925,024 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $116,443,762,000 after purchasing an additional 6,538,720 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Tesla by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 113,762,849 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $50,592,614,000 after buying an additional 344,162 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Tesla by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 65,700,975 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $29,426,070,000 after buying an additional 375,946 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Tesla by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 44,035,949 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $19,583,547,000 after buying an additional 2,403,019 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Tesla by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 20,181,227 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $9,075,901,000 after buying an additional 1,043,213 shares during the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Tesla

In other news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $1,350,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,106 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,147,700. This represents a 14.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 26,409 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.11, for a total transaction of $9,985,506.99. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 48,399 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,300,145.89. This represents a 35.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 57,482 shares of company stock valued at $21,508,331. Corporate insiders own 19.90% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Tesla

Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Tesla’s European sales momentum appears to be improving, with multiple reports citing April registrations up sharply year over year and suggesting the EV business is regaining traction after a long slump. Tesla Logs Strong Growth in European Monthly Sales
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street is also focusing on Tesla’s robotaxi and Optimus opportunities, with coverage saying a new patent could protect future revenue drivers and that the stock is approaching a technical breakout setup. Tesla Patent Could Protect Two Biggest Future Revenue Drivers: Here's Why 'Lens Cleaning System' May Matter
• Positive Sentiment: Renewed speculation around a possible SpaceX-Tesla tie-up is adding excitement, with reports and commentary suggesting the rumored SpaceX IPO could become a major long-term catalyst for Tesla shareholders. SpaceX-Tesla merger chatter reignites as Musk pushes rocket company towards Nasdaq

Tesla Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of TSLA stock opened at $440.36 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $390.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $416.18. Tesla, Inc. has a twelve month low of $273.21 and a twelve month high of $498.83. The company has a market capitalization of $1.65 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 404.00, a PEG ratio of 17.12 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.02. Tesla had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 4.89%. The firm had revenue of $22.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.27 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 1.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TSLA has been the subject of several research reports. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Tesla from $352.00 to $364.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Tesla in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $460.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $395.20.

Tesla Profile

Tesla, Inc NASDAQ: TSLA is an American company that designs, manufactures and sells electric vehicles, energy generation and energy storage products. Founded in 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, Tesla grew into a vertically integrated mobility and clean‑energy company with Elon Musk serving as its chief executive officer. The company's stated mission is to accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy, reflected in its combined focus on electric drivetrains, battery technology, renewable energy products and software.

Tesla's automotive business includes a lineup of battery‑electric vehicles and related services.

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