Tesla, Inc. $TSLA Stock: Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Boosts Position

Key Points

• Citizens Financial Group increased its Tesla stake by 6.2% in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 96,761 shares valued at approximately $34.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 66.2% of Tesla’s outstanding stock.
• Tesla beat third-quarter EPS expectations, reporting $0.48 versus the roughly $0.45 consensus, but revenue was essentially flat at $28.05 billion and GAAP operating income fell sharply. The company also reduced its 2026 capital-expenditure outlook to about $20 billion, raising concerns about investment in AI, robotics and robotaxis.
• Analyst views remain mixed, with recent price targets ranging from $400 to $505; MarketBeat reports a consensus “Hold” rating and an average target price of $408.61.

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its holdings in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Free Report) by 6.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 96,761 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock after buying an additional 5,681 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI's holdings in Tesla were worth $34,332,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Tesla during the second quarter valued at approximately $8,535,612,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Tesla during the 2nd quarter worth $6,083,630,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in Tesla during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,039,090,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Tesla during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,144,509,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Tesla during the second quarter valued at $2,995,584,000. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Tesla

In other Tesla news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,606 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.13, for a total value of $938,498.78. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 25,972 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,353,296.36. The trade was a 9.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 20.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on TSLA. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Tesla from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $266.00 to $420.00 in a report on Thursday. CLSA raised Tesla from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $310.00 to $400.00 in a report on Thursday. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Tesla from $450.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Yorkville Ives began coverage on shares of Tesla in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating and issued a $505.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, twenty have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Tesla 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

Shares of TSLA opened at $372.22 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 409.04, a PEG ratio of 23.62 and a beta of 1.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $364.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $377.39. Tesla, Inc. has a twelve month low of $297.38 and a twelve month high of $498.83.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $28.05 billion during 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 0.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Tesla 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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