Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $97.44 Million in Tesla, Inc. $TSLA

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 262,100 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock, valued at approximately $97,436,000. Tesla comprises approximately 1.7% of Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TSLA. Networth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Tesla during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Davidson Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Tesla by 79.4% in the fourth quarter. Davidson Capital Management Inc. now owns 61 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Tesla during the third quarter worth $30,000. Prism Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Tesla in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX bought a new stake in shares of Tesla in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 66.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on TSLA. Zacks Research upgraded Tesla from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. DZ Bank upgraded Tesla from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $385.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Tesla from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Tesla from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, HSBC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Tesla currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $403.07.

Tesla Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TSLA opened at $379.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.62. Tesla, Inc. has a 1 year low of $288.77 and a 1 year high of $498.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.43 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 348.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 14.99 and a beta of 1.80. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $405.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $413.17.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.02. Tesla had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 4.89%. The company had revenue of $22.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.27 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Tesla, Inc. will post 1.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Key Headlines Impacting Tesla

Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remained constructive on Tesla’s longer-term growth story, with one Seeking Alpha piece upgrading the stock and arguing that two previously speculative “moonshots” are becoming medium-term catalysts. Tesla: 2 Moonshots Have Now Become Medium-Term Catalysts (Rating Upgrade)
• Positive Sentiment: Tesla announced expansion plans in Germany, including higher production at Gigafactory Berlin, which supports the narrative that demand is improving in Europe. Tesla Expands Production In Germany, As VW Cuts 100,000 Jobs
• Positive Sentiment: Tesla also benefited from headlines around its energy business, including a major 16-gigawatt power partnership with Sunrun and Renew Home that could strengthen Tesla Energy’s growth profile. Tesla (TSLA) Lands 16 Gigawatt U.S. Power Plant Deal And 25 Gigawatt Hour Europe Pact
• Neutral Sentiment: Elon Musk’s teaser about a highly advanced next-generation Roadster and other futuristic ambitions may support the long-term story, but it is not an immediate fundamental catalyst. Elon Musk Teases Flying Tesla Roadster With Crazy Tech
• Negative Sentiment: Tesla is facing renewed federal scrutiny after a fatal Model 3 crash, including an NHTSA probe and a separate NTSB investigation, which raises fresh concerns about Full Self-Driving safety. Tesla Under Fresh Scrutiny After Model 3 Crashes Into Home, Killing Woman
• Negative Sentiment: Tesla also settled a lawsuit tied to a fatal Full Self-Driving crash while federal investigations continue, reinforcing investor worries about legal liability and autonomy risk. Tesla settles FSD crash lawsuit as federal investigations continue
• Negative Sentiment: Several market commentaries argued that Tesla remains expensive relative to its current fundamentals, with valuation skepticism and underperformance concerns weighing on sentiment. Tesla Stock Is Having a Bad Week and an Even Worse Month

Insider Activity

In other Tesla news, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 26,409 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.11, for a total transaction of $9,985,506.99. Following the transaction, the director owned 48,399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,300,145.89. This represents a 35.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,606 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.20, for a total value of $1,048,133.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 22,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,864,085.80. This trade represents a 10.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 57,824 shares of company stock worth $21,657,588. 19.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.