Piedmont Capital Management LLC NC Makes New Investment in Tesla, Inc. $TSLA

Key Points

• Piedmont Capital Management LLC NC initiated a new Tesla position in Q4, buying 2,019 shares valued at about $908,000. Tesla now represents roughly 0.6% of the fund’s portfolio.
• Other institutional investors also added to or opened Tesla stakes, and institutional ownership stands at 66.20% of the company’s shares.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but generally cautious: Tesla has a consensus Hold rating with a consensus price target of $404.37, while recent insider sales by the CFO and a director have added to attention on the stock.

Piedmont Capital Management LLC NC bought a new position in shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,019 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock, valued at approximately $908,000. Tesla makes up about 0.6% of Piedmont Capital Management LLC NC's portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on TSLA shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Friday, April 24th. Evercore raised Tesla from a "hold" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Tigress Financial assumed coverage on Tesla in a research note on Monday, April 27th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Tesla from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $475.00 in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Tesla in a research note on Friday, June 5th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $404.37.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Tesla news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,606 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.20, for a total transaction of $1,048,133.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 22,039 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,864,085.80. This represents a 10.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 57,824 shares of company stock valued at $21,657,588 in the last three months. Insiders own 19.90% of the company's stock.

Tesla Stock Performance

NASDAQ:TSLA opened at $406.43 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.53 trillion, a PE ratio of 372.87, a P/E/G ratio of 16.25 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $398.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $416.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 2.04. Tesla, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $288.77 and a fifty-two week 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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $22.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.96 billion. Tesla had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 4.89%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.27 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Tesla, Inc. will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Tesla News Roundup

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

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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