Sunbelt Securities Inc. Sells 12,348 Shares of Tesla, Inc. $TSLA

Key Points

• Sunbelt Securities trimmed its Tesla stake by 35.1% in Q3, selling 12,348 shares and leaving 22,870 shares valued at about $10.17 million.
• Insider selling has been heavy recently: Director Kathleen Wilson‑Thompson sold 25,731 shares (~$10.69M) and CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,264 shares (~$898.9K), with insiders offloading ~87,995 shares (~$38.3M) over the last 90 days.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed with a consensus "Hold" and an average target of $406.84, while corporate catalysts like a $4.3 billion LG battery deal and Tesla’s imminent "Terafab" AI chip are balanced by competition, delivery concerns and legal/headline risks.

Sunbelt Securities Inc. trimmed its position in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Free Report) by 35.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,870 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock after selling 12,348 shares during the quarter. Tesla makes up 0.7% of Sunbelt Securities Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Sunbelt Securities Inc.'s holdings in Tesla were worth $10,171,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. bought a new stake in Tesla in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Tesla during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX acquired a new position in shares of Tesla during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Tesla in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Chapman Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Tesla in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TSLA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Phillip Securities reduced their price objective on shares of Tesla from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Tesla from $307.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a report on Thursday, January 29th. New Street Research increased their price target on shares of Tesla from $520.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $415.00 price objective on shares of Tesla and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and nine have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Tesla presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $406.84.

Key Headlines Impacting Tesla

Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Tesla confirmed a $4.3 billion supply/build deal with LG Energy Solution to build an LFP prismatic cell factory in Lansing, Michigan to supply Megapack energy-storage systems — a major step toward U.S. battery sourcing and securing capacity for the energy business. US government confirms Tesla and LG Energy Solution's $4.3 billion battery deal
• Positive Sentiment: Elon Musk says Tesla’s “Terafab” AI-chip project will launch imminently — investors view a domestic AI-chip supply as critical to scaling Autonomy/robotaxi economics and reducing GPU costs. Elon Musk Says Tesla's 'Terafab' AI Chip Project Launches In 7 Days
• Positive Sentiment: Street support is mixed but constructive headlines arrived today (e.g., Bank of America initiating a Buy) citing expanding robotaxi operations as an upside catalyst. BofA initiates buy on Tesla (TSLA) as robotaxi operations expand across multiple markets
• Neutral Sentiment: Strong China retail data (big year-over-year gains reported earlier) underpins demand expectations abroad but contrasts with soft U.S. sales — signals remain mixed by region. Tesla (TSLA) Growth in China Signals Strong Global Demand, EV Sales Surge 91%
• Neutral Sentiment: Tesla continues to tease product rollouts (Roadster unveiling pushed later in April) and big-capex plans for chips — these keep sentiment positive on potential upside but increase execution and cash-intensity risk. Elon Musk pours cold water on April 1 Tesla Roadster unveiling — but says it'll 'probably' happen later that month
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive pressure on autonomy intensified after Nvidia’s DRIVE partnerships with major OEMs and Uber — that dynamic threatens Tesla’s robotaxi moat and could cap valuation if Tesla can’t monetize autonomy faster. Tesla (TSLA) Stock Slides as Nvidia DRIVE Secures Major Partnerships with Uber, BYD and Hyundai
• Negative Sentiment: Demand and execution concerns remain: commentary about weak U.S. deliveries and prediction-market indicators suggesting Q1 delivery risk could add downward pressure if numbers disappoint. Tesla Stock's Bear Market Just Got A Dangerous New Twist: Q1 Deliveries Could Deepen The Damage
• Negative Sentiment: Legal and governance distractions tied to Elon Musk (recent court developments around his Twitter/X litigation and SEC-related settlement talk reports) create headline risk that can amplify volatility in TSLA. Elon Musk’s lawyers sidestepped SEC team in Twitter case settlement talks

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 25,731 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.56, for a total value of $10,692,774.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 19,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,173,649.64. The trade was a 56.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,264 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.03, for a total value of $898,875.92. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,106 shares in the company, valued at $7,188,625.18. This represents a 11.11% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 87,995 shares of company stock worth $38,315,650. Corporate insiders own 19.90% of the company's stock.

Tesla Trading Up 0.9%

TSLA stock opened at $399.27 on Wednesday. Tesla, Inc. has a 52 week low of $214.25 and a 52 week high of $498.83. The company has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 369.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.70 and a beta of 1.89. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $418.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $426.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 2.16.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.05. Tesla had a net margin of 4.00% and a return on equity of 4.86%. The business had revenue of $24.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $24.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.73 EPS. The business's revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Tesla 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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