Tesla, Inc. $TSLA Stake Decreased by Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC

Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) by 71.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 911 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock after selling 2,277 shares during the quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Tesla were worth $405,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Chapman Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Tesla in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Tesla during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Tesla in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. ESL Trust Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Tesla by 1,900.0% in the 2nd quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC now owns 100 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Delos Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Tesla in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.20% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Tesla

Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Higher oil/gas prices make EV ownership relatively more attractive, which could support Tesla vehicle demand and margins in coming months. Oil prices are surging. Will that help Tesla and others sell more EVs?
• Positive Sentiment: February Europe registrations rose ~10% for Tesla in some reporting, showing pockets of demand resilience despite competitive pressure. Tesla’s Europe registrations rise 10% in February despite sales drops in key markets
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America issued a buy/upgrade view on Tesla (along with legacy automakers), citing opportunities such as robotaxi upside that could support a longer‑term recovery in sentiment. BofA Upgrades Ford (F), Tesla (TSLA), and GM (GM) Stock: What Investors Need to Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Tesla filed a new patent suggesting a bold seat design for the next‑gen Roadster — an innovation signal but not an immediate revenue driver. Tesla Patent Points to Bold New Seat Design for Next-Gen Roadster
• Negative Sentiment: BYD unveiled ultra‑fast charging tech (claims of near‑full in ~9 minutes), which threatens Tesla’s Supercharger competitive edge and raises execution/market‑share risk. BYD Needs Just 9 Minutes To Challenge Tesla’s Last Great Advantage
• Negative Sentiment: UK sales plunged ~37% year‑over‑year in February, underscoring uneven regional recovery and intensifying competitive pressure from Chinese EV makers. Tesla UK car sales drop 37% as Chinese competition heightens, SMMT data shows
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst action and option‑market signals are bearish: BNP Paribas/Exane cut TSLA targets and near‑term put premiums are elevated, implying hedging/short interest and potential selling pressure. BNP Paribas Exane Cuts Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Price Target to $280.00

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Tesla news, Director James R. Murdoch sold 60,000 shares of the firm’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 directly owned 577,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $257,009,607.40. This trade represents a 9.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,637 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $443.93, for a total value of $1,170,643.41. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,757 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,107,145.01. This trade represents a 16.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 145,188 shares of company stock valued at $64,193,919 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 19.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TSLA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Tesla from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $415.00 price objective on shares of Tesla and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and nine have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $406.84.

Tesla Trading Down 2.2%

NASDAQ TSLA opened at $396.73 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $425.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $422.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 2.16. Tesla, Inc. has a twelve month low of $214.25 and a twelve month high of $498.83. The stock has a market cap of $1.49 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 367.34, a PEG ratio of 11.99 and a beta of 1.89.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $24.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.75 billion. Tesla had a return on equity of 4.86% and a net margin of 4.00%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.73 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

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.