Banco Santander S.A. Lowers Holdings in Tesla, Inc. $TSLA

Key Points

• Banco Santander slightly reduced its Tesla stake by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 6,287 shares and leaving it with 436,458 shares worth about $196.3 million. Tesla remains a meaningful holding for the fund, ranking as its 13th-largest position.
• Insider selling continued at Tesla, with Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson and CFO Vaibhav Taneja both selling shares in recent transactions. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 57,824 shares worth about $21.7 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains mixed: some firms raised price targets or upgraded the stock, but the consensus rating is still Hold with an average target of $404.37. The article also notes Tesla’s valuation remains rich, even after the company beat EPS estimates in its latest quarter.

Banco Santander S.A. trimmed its position in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Free Report) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 436,458 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock after selling 6,287 shares during the period. Tesla makes up about 1.5% of Banco Santander S.A.'s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Banco Santander S.A.'s holdings in Tesla were worth $196,284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Networth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Tesla in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Davidson Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Tesla by 79.4% in the 4th quarter. Davidson Capital Management Inc. now owns 61 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. purchased a new position in Tesla in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Prism Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Tesla in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX purchased a new stake in shares of Tesla in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Tesla

Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Tesla is still benefiting from its autonomy and AI story, with reports highlighting its unsupervised robotaxi rollout and expanded Full Self-Driving approvals in Europe, including Belgium and Denmark. Tesla Robotaxi Rollout And FSD Expansion Test Rich Valuation Narrative
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts remain constructive on Tesla’s long-term growth, pointing to underappreciated opportunities in autonomous vehicles, humanoid robotics, and energy storage, which supports the bull case despite near-term volatility. JPMorgan Echoes Why Tesla, Inc. (TSLA) is One of the Best Forever Stocks to Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: There is also ongoing merger speculation between Tesla and SpaceX, with Gwynne Shotwell saying a tie-up “might make Elon's life a little easier,” but this remains highly speculative and not an immediate business catalyst. SpaceX COO Shotwell says Tesla tie-up ‘might make Elon's life a little easier'
• Neutral Sentiment: New articles comparing Tesla with BYD and discussing how SpaceX’s debut compares with Tesla’s history are mostly narrative-driven and do not change Tesla’s fundamentals by themselves. Is it too late to buy SpaceX's stock? Here's how Tesla's did after one day and five years.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple pieces say Tesla may be losing investor attention to SpaceX, with fears that capital is being redirected to the high-profile IPO; that dynamic has weighed on TSLA sentiment. What's Going On With Tesla Stock Friday
• Negative Sentiment: Bearish commentary also remains in the background, including a Glj Research “sell” reaffirmation and articles arguing Tesla’s battery advantage is thinning, which adds pressure on valuation concerns. Tesla: The Battery Moat Is Becoming Thinner

Insider Transactions at Tesla

In related news, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 26,409 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $18,300,145.89. This represents a 35.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $1,350,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,106 shares in the company, valued at $8,147,700. This trade represents a 14.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 57,824 shares of company stock worth $21,657,588. 19.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on TSLA. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Tesla from $420.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Tesla from $538.00 to $522.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Glj Research restated a "sell" rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Friday. Evercore upgraded Tesla from a "hold" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Twenty-two 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 MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $404.37.

Tesla Price Performance

NASDAQ:TSLA opened at $406.43 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.53 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 372.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 15.96 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company's 50-day moving average is $398.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $416.01. Tesla, Inc. has a 12-month low of $288.77 and a 12-month high of $498.83.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $22.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.96 billion. Tesla had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 4.89%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.27 EPS. Research analysts expect that Tesla, Inc. will post 1.19 EPS for the current year.

About Tesla

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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