Tesla, Inc. $TSLA Shares Sold by Aptus Capital Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Aptus Capital Advisors LLC sharply reduced its Tesla stake by 63.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 339,731 shares and leaving it with 191,865 shares valued at about $86.3 million.
• Despite that sale, Tesla remains heavily owned by institutions, with large firms like Vanguard, State Street, Geode, and Norges Bank continuing to hold substantial positions; overall, 66.2% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• Tesla’s latest quarterly earnings showed EPS of $0.41, topping estimates, while revenue rose 15.8% year over year to $22.39 billion, though analyst sentiment remains mixed with a consensus Hold rating and average price target of $404.37.

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC cut its position in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Free Report) by 63.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 191,865 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock after selling 339,731 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Tesla were worth $86,286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of TSLA. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Tesla by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 258,925,024 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $116,443,762,000 after buying an additional 6,538,720 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Tesla by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 114,842,934 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $51,647,164,000 after buying an additional 1,080,085 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Tesla by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 65,700,975 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $29,426,070,000 after buying an additional 375,946 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Tesla by 5.8% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 44,035,949 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $19,583,547,000 after buying an additional 2,403,019 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Tesla in the fourth quarter worth about $17,128,100,000. 66.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Tesla

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Tesla news, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 26,409 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $18,300,145.89. This represents a 35.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $1,350,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,106 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,147,700. The trade was a 14.21% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 57,824 shares of company stock worth $21,657,588 in the last quarter. 19.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on TSLA shares. Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Tesla in a research note on Friday, June 5th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. China Renaissance lowered their target price on Tesla from $382.00 to $372.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Oppenheimer restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Tesla from $420.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $404.37.

Tesla Stock Performance

Shares of TSLA stock opened at $406.43 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.53 trillion, a P/E ratio of 372.87, a P/E/G ratio of 16.25 and a beta of 1.80. The business's 50 day moving average is $398.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $416.01. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $288.77 and a 12-month high of $498.83.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $22.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.96 billion. Tesla had a return on equity of 4.89% and a net margin of 3.95%.Tesla's revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.27 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Tesla, Inc. will post 1.19 EPS for the current fiscal 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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