Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Tesla, Inc. $TSLA

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group increased its Tesla stake by 27.7% in the fourth quarter, buying 40,816 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 188,247 shares worth about $84.7 million.
• Institutional interest in Tesla remains high, with hedge funds and other investors owning 66.2% of the company. Several smaller firms also added or initiated positions during the quarter.
• Tesla continues to face mixed sentiment: analysts remain split with a consensus “Hold” rating, while recent headlines include positive autonomy/AI developments but also a Model Y recall and ongoing concerns about valuation and execution.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Free Report) by 27.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 188,247 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock after buying an additional 40,816 shares during the period. Tesla accounts for 0.4% of Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Tesla were worth $84,659,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Networth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Tesla in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Davidson Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Tesla by 79.4% during the fourth quarter. Davidson Capital Management Inc. now owns 61 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Tesla during the third quarter worth $30,000. Prism Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Tesla during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX purchased a new position in shares of Tesla during the third quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other 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’s Full Self-Driving rollout in China and subscription-based FSD availability in Europe bolster the case that autonomy could become a bigger growth driver. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts and commentators continue to frame Tesla as a robotics and AI company, with bullish chatter around Optimus and the company’s long-term pivot away from being just an automaker. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: SpaceX’s IPO has dominated investor attention, and while it highlights Musk’s ecosystem, the market is debating whether it will ultimately help Tesla or distract capital and attention away from TSLA. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported Tesla is recalling 14,575 Model Y SUVs in the U.S. over a missing weight certification label, adding another quality-control issue to the stock’s recent concerns. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Several articles warn that Tesla’s valuation remains stretched and that FSD still faces execution questions, with critics saying the technology is not yet ready to justify the stock’s premium. Article Title

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 26,409 shares of the 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 sale, the director directly owned 48,399 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,300,145.89. This represents a 35.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 transaction of $1,350,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,106 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,147,700. The trade was a 14.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 83,213 shares of company stock worth $32,201,105. Corporate insiders own 19.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TSLA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Friday, April 24th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $415.00 target price on shares of Tesla and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Tesla from $352.00 to $364.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "sell" rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $395.20.

Tesla Trading Up 2.0%

TSLA stock opened at $426.01 on Friday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $387.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $416.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Tesla, Inc. has a 52-week low of $273.21 and a 52-week high of $498.83. The firm has a market cap of $1.60 trillion, a P/E ratio of 390.83, a PEG ratio of 16.82 and a beta of 1.79.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $22.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.27 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 1.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tesla Company 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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