HighTower Advisors LLC Cuts Position in Tesla, Inc. $TSLA

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors reduced its Tesla stake by 1.1% in the second quarter, selling 10,586 shares and retaining 952,455 shares valued at approximately $400.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 66.2% of Tesla.
• Analyst opinion remains mixed: Tesla has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $414.68, with ratings ranging from “Strong Buy” to “Sell.”
• Tesla reported quarterly revenue of $28.24 billion, up 25.5% year over year, but missed earnings expectations with EPS of $0.33 versus $0.50 expected. Shares were trading near $356.58, while the company faced execution and regulatory risks surrounding autonomy, robotics and the Cybercab.

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Free Report) by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 952,455 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock after selling 10,586 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Tesla were worth $400,603,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Tesla during the fourth quarter valued at about $17,128,100,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Tesla by 3,205.5% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 21,459,599 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $9,650,811,000 after buying an additional 20,810,386 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Tesla during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,535,612,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Tesla during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,083,630,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in Tesla during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,039,090,000. Institutional investors own 66.20% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Tesla

Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Tesla is expanding beyond autos: Pacific Gas & Electric selected the company for SHARE, a large virtual power plant connecting thousands of residential energy devices. The deal supports Tesla’s energy-storage and grid-services strategy, although investors may view its financial impact as modest initially. Tesla PG&E grid deal
• Positive Sentiment: Tesla reportedly regained roughly 52% of the U.S. EV market through August as Ford and GM reduced their EV efforts. However, Tesla’s own sales were still lower, meaning the share gain appears driven partly by weaker competition rather than accelerating demand. Tesla U.S. EV market share
• Positive Sentiment: Tesla established a Vietnamese subsidiary authorized to import, distribute and sell vehicles, creating a formal entry point into a growing Southeast Asian EV market and potentially diversifying sales beyond China. Tesla Vietnam expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Virtuix said Tesla placed repeat orders for its Omni One Enterprise systems for the Optimus humanoid-robot program, offering an outside indication that Tesla continues developing robotics applications. Elon Musk also says Optimus could ship to customers in 2027, though revenue remains speculative. Tesla Optimus shipment plans
• Neutral Sentiment: Tesla’s October 1 Roadster event is generating significant attention, with Musk hinting at unusually advanced or possible SpaceX-related technology. The reveal could become a catalyst, but the nine-year delay has made investors skeptical until production timing and specifications are demonstrated. Tesla Roadster reveal
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. regulators are questioning whether Tesla properly self-certified the steering-wheel-free Cybercab and whether the vehicle complies with safety standards. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration wants answers by September 30, raising certification, launch-timing and liability risks. Cybercab certification investigation
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Cybercab rides can take substantially longer because the vehicles avoid highways reinforce concerns that Tesla’s current robotaxi service is limited and not yet ready for rapid scaling. Commentary has also contrasted Tesla’s rollout with Waymo’s more established operations. Tesla Cybercab rollout
• Negative Sentiment: At a valuation above 300 times earnings, Tesla remains highly dependent on future autonomy, robotics and energy growth. Skepticism over delayed products, competition and execution makes the stock vulnerable when new announcements do not immediately translate into commercial results.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $420.00 price target on shares of Tesla in a report on Monday, July 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley restated a "reduce" rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Monday. Citizens Jmp assumed coverage on Tesla in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Tesla from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eighteen have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $414.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tesla

In related news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,606 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.13, for a total transaction of $938,498.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 25,972 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,353,296.36. This trade represents a 9.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 19.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Tesla Trading Down 0.7%

Tesla stock opened at $356.58 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Tesla, Inc. has a 52 week low of $297.38 and a 52 week high of $498.83. The company has a market capitalization of $1.41 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 330.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 18.12 and a beta of 1.84. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $351.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $380.48.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.17). Tesla had a return on equity of 3.82% and a net margin of 3.67%.The business had revenue of $28.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.33 EPS. Tesla's quarterly revenue was up 25.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Tesla, Inc. will post 0.88 EPS for the current year.

Tesla Company Profile

Tesla, Inc is an American technology and automotive company that designs, develops, manufactures and sells electric vehicles and related energy products. Its vehicle lineup has included the Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y and Cybertruck, along with commercial and specialty products such as the Tesla Semi.

The company also develops energy-generation and storage products, including solar panels, solar roofing systems and battery storage solutions for residential, commercial and utility customers.

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