Franklin Resources Inc. Has $3 Billion Position in Tesla, Inc. $TSLA

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,737,089 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 368,493 shares during the quarter. Tesla accounts for about 0.7% of Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.20% of Tesla worth $2,996,118,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director James R. Murdoch sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 owned 577,031 shares in the company, valued at $257,009,607.40. The trade was a 9.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson sold 25,731 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $8,173,649.64. This represents a 56.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 87,995 shares of company stock worth $38,315,650 in the last quarter. 19.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. New Street Research boosted their price objective on shares of Tesla from $520.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Tigress Financial initiated coverage on Tesla in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $550.00 target price for the company. Phillip Securities cut their target price on Tesla from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Tesla in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Tesla from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and nine have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Tesla has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $406.84.

Trending Headlines about Tesla

Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Robust supplier results — CATL posted strong Q4 earnings and signaled healthy global battery demand, which investors view as a positive demand read‑through for Tesla’s supply chain and EV sales outlook. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Energy affordability coalition — Tesla joined Alphabet/Google in a coalition (Utilize) to push grid efficiency and lower electricity costs, which could help Tesla Energy adoption and reduce TCO for EV buyers over time. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Speculation around SpaceX IPO —talk of a large SpaceX IPO and potential Tesla‑shareholder access is an indirect narrative for Musk‑linked assets; it’s speculative and unlikely to change TSLA fundamentals in the near term. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Tesla advertising beyond X — the company has started paid ads on Facebook/YouTube for certain products; this could be read as proactive marketing to shore up demand or as a sign demand is slipping — outcome depends on subsequent sales trends. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: CFO insider sale disclosed — Tesla CFO sold ~2,264 shares (filed in SEC), which is notable but not a large position relative to total outstanding shares; investors often watch for patterns rather than single transactions. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Executive departures mounting — long‑time finance VP Sendil Palani left after 17 years and other senior exits (including robotaxi backend director) raise execution risk ahead of major product rollouts. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Autonomy / safety regulatory risk — analyst reports and renewed NHTSA scrutiny of FSD (worsening safety metrics flagged) increase near‑term legal, recall and liability risk that could weigh on shares. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Competition & delivery pressure — intensifying competition (BYD, NIO, new robotaxi entrants) and reports of falling UK car sales and recent delivery declines are pressuring growth expectations and valuation multiples. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Macro / supply concerns — investors remain worried about possible chip shortages, rising oil/pricing pressures and their effect on production costs and consumer buying; these themes are cited in several market notes as reasons investors are cautious. Read More.

Tesla Trading Up 0.1%

NASDAQ TSLA opened at $399.23 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 369.66, a P/E/G ratio of 11.79 and a beta of 1.89. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $422.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $424.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 1.77. Tesla, Inc. has a one year low of $214.25 and a one year high of $498.83.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $24.90 billion for 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 was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.73 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Tesla Company 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.