Empire Life Investments Inc. Raises Stake in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Key Points

• Empire Life Investments Inc. has increased its stake in Tesla, Inc. by 118.3%, owning a total of 12,324 shares worth approximately $3,194,000 as of its latest SEC filing.
• Several institutional investors, including FMR LLC and GAMMA Investing LLC, have significantly increased their holdings in Tesla, reflecting a strong interest in the electric vehicle producer's stock.
• Despite missing earnings estimates for the last quarter with a net margin of 6.54% and revenue down 11.8% year-over-year, Tesla maintains a substantial market capitalization of $976.12 billion.

Empire Life Investments Inc. raised its position in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Free Report) by 118.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,324 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock after acquiring an additional 6,678 shares during the quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc.'s holdings in Tesla were worth $3,194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Tesla by 40.1% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,661,400 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $13,997,660,000 after acquiring an additional 9,920,325 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Tesla by 27,378.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,812,316 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $2,542,960,000 after buying an additional 9,776,607 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Tesla by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 28,579,615 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $11,541,592,000 after purchasing an additional 5,075,418 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Tesla by 54.3% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 8,464,765 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $2,193,728,000 after acquiring an additional 2,978,026 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its stake in Tesla by 65.5% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 5,937,475 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $2,397,790,000 after acquiring an additional 2,350,065 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.20% of the company's stock.

Tesla Price Performance

TSLA stock opened at $302.63 on Monday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $322.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $310.31. Tesla, Inc. has a 12-month low of $182.00 and a 12-month high of $488.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $976.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 174.93, a PEG ratio of 10.63 and a beta of 2.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.03). Tesla had a return on equity of 7.98% and a net margin of 6.54%. The company had revenue of $22.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on TSLA. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Tesla from $315.00 to $285.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 11th. Baird R W downgraded shares of Tesla from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Argus reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Roth Mkm decreased their price objective on shares of Tesla from $450.00 to $395.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Tesla from $325.00 to $275.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $303.31.

Insider Activity at Tesla

In other news, Director Ira Matthew Ehrenpreis sold 477,572 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $357.30, for a total value of $170,636,475.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 855,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $305,632,276.20. This represents a 35.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kimbal Musk sold 91,588 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $357.39, for a total transaction of $32,732,635.32. Following the sale, the director owned 1,463,220 shares in the company, valued at approximately $522,940,195.80. The trade was a 5.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 719,119 shares of company stock valued at $246,186,549. 20.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Tesla

Tesla, Inc designs, develops, manufactures, leases, and sells electric vehicles, and energy generation and storage systems in the United States, China, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Automotive, and Energy Generation and Storage. The Automotive segment offers electric vehicles, as well as sells automotive regulatory credits; and non-warranty after-sales vehicle, used vehicles, body shop and parts, supercharging, retail merchandise, and vehicle insurance services.

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