Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Tesla experienced a significant increase in short interest, rising by 101,734.1% to a total of 69,960,000 shares as of July 15th.
• Insider selling included Kimbal Musk, who sold 91,588 shares, reducing his stake by 5.89%, and total insider sales over the past 90 days reached 719,119 shares.
• Recent institutional investments show that firms like Vanguard and Goldman Sachs significantly increased their holdings in Tesla, with Vanguard owning approximately $63.98 billion worth of shares.

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 69,960,000 shares, agrowthof101,734.1% from the June 30th total of 68,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 110,660,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.6 days. Based on an average trading volume of 110,660,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.6 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kimbal Musk sold 91,588 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $357.39, for a total transaction of $32,732,635.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,463,220 shares in the company, valued at $522,940,195.80. This trade represents a 5.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.81, for a total transaction of $4,857,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 67,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,889,556. This represents a 18.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 719,119 shares of company stock worth $246,186,549 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 20.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tesla

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Tesla by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 246,887,705 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $63,983,418,000 after buying an additional 3,694,524 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Tesla by 40.1% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,661,400 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $13,997,660,000 after purchasing an additional 9,920,325 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Tesla by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 28,579,615 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $11,541,592,000 after purchasing an additional 5,075,418 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Tesla by 322.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 26,590,525 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $6,891,201,000 after acquiring an additional 20,291,139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Tesla by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 24,536,519 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $9,908,828,000 after acquiring an additional 158,697 shares in the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Tesla Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of TSLA traded down $5.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $303.15. 65,359,082 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 107,742,898. The stock has a market cap of $977.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 175.28, a P/E/G ratio of 11.21 and a beta of 2.39. The stock's 50-day moving average is $322.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $312.48. Tesla has a 12 month low of $182.00 and a 12 month high of $488.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.55.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $22.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.18 billion. Tesla had a return on equity of 7.98% and a net margin of 6.54%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Tesla will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on TSLA. Baird R W cut shares of Tesla from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Tesla from $305.00 to $341.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $410.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a report on Friday, June 6th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, UBS Group set a $290.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $303.31.

About Tesla

Tesla, Inc designs, develops, manufactures, leases, and sells electric vehicles, and energy generation and storage systems in the United States, China, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Automotive, and Energy Generation and Storage. The Automotive segment offers electric vehicles, as well as sells automotive regulatory credits; and non-warranty after-sales vehicle, used vehicles, body shop and parts, supercharging, retail merchandise, and vehicle insurance services.

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