Tesla, Inc. $TSLA Shares Purchased by Salem Investment Counselors Inc.

Key Points

• Salem Investment Counselors increased its Tesla stake by 28% in Q4 to 12,473 shares, valued at about $5.61 million.
• Tesla slightly beat Q4 expectations with $0.50 EPS versus $0.45 estimated and revenue of $24.9B, but revenue was down 3.1% year‑over‑year and the stock trades at a high valuation (P/E ≈ 355) with a MarketBeat consensus "Hold" price target of $406.84.
• Insiders have sold heavily—87,995 shares worth roughly $38.3 million in the past 90 days—while institutions/hedge funds hold about 66.2% of the stock and insiders own 19.9%.

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Free Report) by 28.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,473 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock after buying an additional 2,731 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.'s holdings in Tesla were worth $5,609,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Chapman Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Tesla during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Tesla in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Tesla in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Tesla during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX purchased a new stake in shares of Tesla during the third quarter worth about $31,000. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tesla Price Performance

Tesla stock opened at $383.03 on Wednesday. Tesla, Inc. has a 1 year low of $214.25 and a 1 year high of $498.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 2.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $412.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $428.36. The company has a market cap of $1.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 354.66, a PEG ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 1.89.

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

Insider Transactions at Tesla

In other Tesla news, Director James R. Murdoch sold 60,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $445.40, for a total transaction of $26,724,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 577,031 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $257,009,607.40. The trade was a 9.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 25,731 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director owned 19,669 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,173,649.64. This represents a 56.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 87,995 shares of company stock worth $38,315,650 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 19.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on TSLA. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Tesla from $509.00 to $519.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Tesla in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $460.00 target price for the company. Mizuho set a $540.00 price target on Tesla and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Glj Research reissued a "sell" rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and nine have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $406.84.

Trending Headlines about Tesla

Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

• Positive Sentiment: February European registrations reversed a year‑long slide, giving evidence that Tesla’s sales momentum in the region may be stabilizing — a tangible recovery that investors view as supportive for delivery growth and near‑term revenue. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Musk’s Terafab announcement (joint Tesla/SpaceX chip fabs in Texas) is being interpreted as a strategic move to secure advanced AI/autonomy chips and reduce supply risk — a long‑term positive for Tesla’s ambitions in autonomy, Optimus and in‑vehicle AI capacity. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Product progress: reports of Full‑Self Driving v14.3 and ongoing software updates keep the robotaxi/autonomy story alive — a key growth narrative that underpins much of TSLA’s valuation premium. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest data published today appears erroneous (reports show 0 shares / NaN increase), so there’s no clear signal of a fresh short squeeze or meaningful change in borrow pressure. (market data entry)
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk: the NHTSA has escalated probes into Tesla’s FSD capability in challenging visibility conditions — additional engineering analysis raises recall/liability risk and lengthens the timeline for commercial autonomy. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive pressure: Amazon’s Zoox expansion into San Francisco and Las Vegas and a rapid BYD sales surge in Europe highlight intensifying competition in robotaxi and European EV markets, which could constrain Tesla’s share gains and margin recovery. Article Title Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation/capex concern: analysts and some investors worry Terafab’s huge cost will pressure margins and force higher capex, testing the market’s patience for growth spending at Tesla’s premium valuation. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Investor caution/structural concerns: high‑profile warnings (e.g., Gary Black on a potential Tesla‑SpaceX tie-up diluting TSLA value) and mixed analyst calls keep some investors cautious despite positive headlines. Article Title

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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