Tesla, Inc. $TSLA Position Lowered by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Sterling Capital Management reduced its Tesla position by 4.6% in the third quarter, selling 4,528 shares and retaining 93,221 shares valued at approximately $33.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 66.2% of Tesla.
• Tesla exceeded third-quarter earnings expectations with adjusted EPS of $0.48 and approximately $1.5 billion in positive free cash flow, but revenue was essentially flat year over year, automotive revenue fell 3%, and GAAP operating income declined 56%.
• Analysts remain divided, with Tesla carrying a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $408.61. Long-term optimism centers on autonomous driving, robotaxis, robotics and energy storage, while reduced capital spending and execution risks remain concerns.

Sterling Capital Management LLC cut its position in shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Free Report) by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 93,221 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock after selling 4,528 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Tesla were worth $33,076,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in Tesla by 2.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 117,456,756 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $49,402,312,000 after buying an additional 2,761,298 shares during the period. Amundi grew its position in shares of Tesla by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 22,174,884 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $8,243,513,000 after buying an additional 2,727,141 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Tesla in the 2nd quarter worth about $8,535,612,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Tesla in the 2nd quarter worth about $6,083,630,000. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY increased its stake in shares of Tesla by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 12,524,752 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $5,267,911,000 after acquiring an additional 591,243 shares in the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Tesla

In other news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,606 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.13, for a total value of $938,498.78. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 25,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,353,296.36. This represents a 9.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Company insiders own 19.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $475.00 price target (up from $450.00) on shares of Tesla in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Wednesday. William Blair reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $400.00 target price (up from $350.00) on shares of Tesla in a report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $442.00 price target on Tesla and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, twenty have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $408.61.

Key Headlines Impacting Tesla

Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Tesla beat third-quarter adjusted earnings expectations, reporting $0.48 per share versus the $0.45 consensus estimate, and generated approximately $1.5 billion in positive free cash flow. Tesla Surpasses Q3 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Paid Full Self-Driving adoption exceeded 75% of North American deliveries, with subscriptions increasing 67% year over year. Investors view FSD, robotaxis, Optimus robots, and Megapack energy storage as potential long-term growth engines. Tesla’s FSD Subscriptions Surge
• Positive Sentiment: European sales reportedly strengthened, while Tesla is expanding its Cybercab robotaxi program beyond Austin and developing AI-based mapping from fleet data. These developments support the company’s autonomy narrative, although commercialization remains early. Tesla Europe Sales Surge
• Neutral Sentiment: Elon Musk called a SpaceX-Tesla merger a “good idea,” and both companies reportedly formed special committees to study a combination. Potential benefits include shared work in AI, chips, robotics, connectivity, and energy, but no transaction is certain. SpaceX-Tesla Merger Chatter
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain divided: Morgan Stanley raised its target to $410 with an equal-weight rating, while RBC maintained an outperform rating and a $480 target. Bullish forecasts depend heavily on successful autonomy and robotics execution.
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue was essentially flat year over year at about $28 billion, automotive revenue fell 3%, energy-generation and storage revenue declined 16%, and GAAP operating income dropped 56%. Refunds and other factors also clouded the reported margin improvement. Tesla Automotive and Energy Revenue Results
• Negative Sentiment: Tesla reduced its 2026 capital-expenditure outlook from more than $25 billion to approximately $20 billion after third-quarter spending trailed expectations. Investors worry the pullback could delay AI, robotics, and robotaxi ambitions. Tesla Spending Pullback
• Negative Sentiment: Tesla will refund Cybertruck deposits in Australia and New Zealand, signaling reduced regional ambitions for the troubled vehicle. Regulatory scrutiny of the Cybercab and delays in unsupervised FSD add further execution risk.
• Negative Sentiment: The broader Nasdaq sell-off, renewed doubts about AI spending returns, higher oil prices, and geopolitical tensions have pressured high-valuation technology stocks, including TSLA.

Tesla Price Performance

TSLA opened at $372.22 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.47 trillion, a PE ratio of 409.04, a P/E/G ratio of 23.63 and a beta of 1.92. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $364.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $377.22. Tesla, Inc. has a 1 year low of $297.38 and a 1 year high of $498.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.55.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $28.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.06 billion. Tesla had a net margin of 3.11% and a return on equity of 3.03%. Tesla's revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Tesla, Inc. will post 0.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Tesla Company Profile

Tesla, Inc is an electric vehicle and clean energy company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2003, the company designs, manufactures and sells electric vehicles, including the Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y and Cybertruck. Tesla also develops vehicle software, driver-assistance features and related services intended to support the operation and ownership of its vehicles.

Beyond automobiles, Tesla produces energy storage products for residential, commercial and utility-scale applications, including the Powerwall and Megapack.

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