Defender Capital LLC. Acquires 5,080 Shares of Tesla, Inc. $TSLA

Defender Capital LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) by 23.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 27,132 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,080 shares during the period. Tesla makes up 4.0% of Defender Capital LLC.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Defender Capital LLC.’s holdings in Tesla were worth $12,201,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Tesla by 0.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 252,386,304 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $112,241,237,000 after purchasing an additional 995,623 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Tesla by 0.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 113,762,849 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $50,592,614,000 after purchasing an additional 344,162 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Tesla by 5.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,403,019 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Tesla during the second quarter worth approximately $11,839,824,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in shares of Tesla by 20.4% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 20,194,152 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $6,374,284,000 after buying an additional 3,422,270 shares during the last quarter. 66.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Tesla News

Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives reiterates a bullish view on Tesla and calls the Terafab chip push “an emerging AI powerhouse,” supporting upside thesis for Tesla’s AI/robotics roadmap and the stock’s re-rating. Daniel Ives Doubles Down on Tesla Stock, Calls TeraFab Push an ‘Emerging AI Powerhouse’
• Positive Sentiment: Elon Musk’s Terafab plan — a reported multi‑billion-dollar chip venture with SpaceX to build advanced fabs in Texas — bolsters Tesla’s vertical integration for AI chips, addressing a key supply bottleneck for Optimus, FSD and future data-center ambitions. Execution risk remains, but market reaction is positive. Tesla (TSLA) Unveils $20B Terafab Chip Manufacturing Venture to Challenge TSMC
• Positive Sentiment: European registrations reversed a year-plus decline in February (nearly +12% YoY), easing concerns about demand in a key market and supporting near-term sales momentum. Investors view this as a tangible recovery signal for vehicle volumes. European car sales rise modestly in February, Tesla reverses year-long skid
• Positive Sentiment: Positive Semi/battery headlines — including “million‑mile” battery claims tied to the Semi and celebrity praise after test drives — are supporting the product pipeline narrative and could improve long‑term revenue mix if commercial adoption scales. “Million-Mile Battery”: Tesla Stock (NASDAQ:TSLA) Jumps With New Semi Battery Claims Tesla Semi Gets Jay Leno Talking — And He Says This Could Be A Game‑Changer
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Tesla is vertically integrating semiconductor production (beyond Terafab coverage) show strategic alignment with autonomy/robotics goals — positive strategically but high capex and execution timelines keep near‑term impact uncertain. Tesla (TSLA) Accelerates Its Autonomous Driving Roadmap By Vertically Integrating Its Semiconductor Production
• Neutral Sentiment: Robotics/robot policy visibility at the White House increases public awareness of the space but the showcased humanoid wasn’t Tesla’s Optimus — a reminder that government attention can help the sector but doesn’t guarantee Tesla leadership. First Humanoid Robot Appears At White House With Melania Trump — And No, It Wasn’t Elon Musk’s Optimus
• Negative Sentiment: Intensifying competition in Europe — BYD’s sales surge (triple‑digit growth) and market share gains — remains a material threat to Tesla’s pricing and volume recovery in the region. That competitive pressure is a key risk to margins and growth expectations. Tesla’s Global Sales Crisis Deepens As BYD Surges 162% In Europe
• Negative Sentiment: Legal and reputational noise around Elon Musk (judge recusal request, political headlines, and offers like paying TSA) keeps regulatory/PR risk elevated — this can affect investor sentiment and invites short‑term volatility. Elon Musk asks judge to recuse herself in Tesla shareholder case, saying she hearted post about him losing a lawsuit White House Rejects Elon Musk Offer to Cover TSA Pay During DHS Shutdown
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory scrutiny and uncertainty around the robotaxi/self‑driving timeline remain significant — any adverse findings or slower‑than‑expected progress could materially impair the high multiple investors assign to Tesla’s non‑auto growth opportunities. Is Tesla’s Robotaxi Future at Risk? (Hint: Yes, but It’s Complicated)

Insider Activity

In other news, Director James R. Murdoch sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $445.40, for a total transaction of $26,724,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 577,031 shares in the company, valued at $257,009,607.40. The trade was a 9.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 25,731 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.56, for a total transaction of $10,692,774.36. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 19,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,173,649.64. This represents a 56.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 87,995 shares of company stock valued at $38,315,650 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 19.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on TSLA shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Tesla from $307.00 to $352.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. President Capital cut their target price on Tesla from $517.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, China Renaissance boosted their target price on Tesla from $380.00 to $382.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and nine have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $406.84.

Tesla Price Performance

Tesla stock opened at $385.95 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $411.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $428.07. Tesla, Inc. has a 12 month low of $214.25 and a 12 month high of $498.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.45 trillion, a PE ratio of 357.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.33 and a beta of 1.89.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $24.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.75 billion. Tesla had a net margin of 4.00% and a return on equity of 4.86%. Tesla’s revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.73 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current 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.