Kovack Advisors Inc. Purchases 41,573 Shares of Tesla, Inc. $TSLA

Key Points

• Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its Tesla stake by 166.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 41,573 more shares and bringing its total holding to 66,569 shares worth about $29.9 million.
• Institutional ownership remains strong, with several other funds also boosting their positions; overall, hedge funds and institutions own 66.20% of Tesla’s stock.
• Insiders have been selling shares, including CFO Vaibhav Taneja and Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson, though Taneja’s sale was tied to tax withholding from equity awards and Tesla said the most recent quarter beat EPS expectations despite revenue coming in below estimates.

Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Free Report) by 166.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,569 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock after purchasing an additional 41,573 shares during the period. Tesla accounts for approximately 1.5% of Kovack Advisors Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Kovack Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Tesla were worth $29,937,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in TSLA. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 34.7% in the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 19,567 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $8,799,000 after acquiring an additional 5,039 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its position in Tesla by 29.6% during the 3rd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 32,576 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $14,487,000 after purchasing an additional 7,446 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Tesla by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 48,504 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $21,571,000 after purchasing an additional 3,935 shares during the last quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Tesla by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 41,907 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $18,846,000 after buying an additional 2,341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Tesla by 139.3% in the fourth quarter. Private Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 21,331 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $9,593,000 after buying an additional 12,417 shares in the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 3,000 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction on 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 trade represents a 14.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 business's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 48,399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,300,145.89. The trade was a 35.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 57,824 shares of company stock worth $21,657,588 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 19.90% of the company's stock.

Tesla Trading Up 4.6%

NASDAQ TSLA opened at $399.15 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $397.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $416.08. Tesla, Inc. has a 12 month low of $288.77 and a 12 month high of $498.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 366.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 15.29 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.

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

Trending Headlines about Tesla

Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Tesla secured approval to expand Full Self-Driving in Belgium, adding momentum to its European autonomy rollout and supporting the long-term software revenue story.
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage of Tesla’s Austin robotaxi rollout and improving analyst views on autonomy are strengthening the bull case for future AI-driven growth.
• Positive Sentiment: SpaceX IPO excitement may be reducing some of the recent selling pressure on TSLA as investors reassess Musk-related capital rotation.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary remains split on valuation, with bulls focused on autonomy and robotics while bears argue Tesla still looks expensive versus current earnings.
• Neutral Sentiment: Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja’s recent share sale was disclosed as tax withholding tied to equity awards, which is typically a routine insider transaction.
• Negative Sentiment: Some articles noted that TSLA remains volatile as traders weigh whether SpaceX hype is distracting from Tesla’s core EV business and execution.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Monday, April 27th. President Capital boosted their price objective on Tesla from $424.00 to $428.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Zacks Research upgraded Tesla from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Tigress Financial began coverage on Tesla in a report on Monday, April 27th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Tesla presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $404.37.

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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