Victory Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stake in Tesla, Inc. $TSLA

03 Mar 2026, 14:54 by Michael Walen · The Markets Daily

Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA – Free Report) by 0.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,936,986 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock after selling 5,573 shares during the quarter. Tesla accounts for 0.5% of Victory Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Tesla were worth $861,416,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Chapman Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Tesla in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Tesla in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Tesla in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. ESL Trust Services LLC raised its stake in Tesla by 1,900.0% during the 2nd quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC now owns 100 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Delos Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Tesla during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kimbal Musk sold 56,820 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.66, for a total transaction of $25,606,501.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,391,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $627,145,215.90. This trade represents a 3.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director James R. Murdoch sold 60,000 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $445.40, for a total value of $26,724,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 577,031 shares in the company, valued at $257,009,607.40. This trade represents a 9.42% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 145,188 shares of company stock valued at $64,193,919 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 19.90% of the company’s stock.

Key Tesla News

Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

Positive Sentiment: Tesla regained market share in key European markets (France, Norway) in February, signaling stabilization after earlier weakness; that supports near‑term demand expectations in Europe. Tesla gains market in France, Norway in February
Positive Sentiment: Tesla reports large-scale FSD testing progress (8.4 billion FSD miles), moving toward Musk’s 10B-mile benchmark for unsupervised autonomy — a key long‑term value driver if regulators and safety metrics align. Tesla Hits 8.4B FSD Miles
Positive Sentiment: AI/robotics narrative remains a structural tailwind — Tesla’s Optimus and robotaxi ambitions keep the stock tied to high‑growth AI expectations, attracting thematic investors. 5 Stocks Racing Ahead as AI Supercharges Robotics (TSLA)
Neutral Sentiment: Elon Musk’s long‑range vision (e.g., “moon factories” comment) reinforces confidence among long‑term holders but is speculative for near‑term valuation. Elon Musk Predicts Tesla Moon Factories
Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and legal scrutiny of Autopilot/robotaxi marketing is intensifying, with March 9 flagged by multiple outlets as a potential catalyst (deadlines, safety disclosures or agency actions) that could increase near‑term volatility. Tesla stock is down, but is March 9 the date that changes everything?
Negative Sentiment: Ongoing legal fights (DMV, trademark, labor/class actions) and executive churn raise execution and reputational risk tied directly to the robotaxi rollout and autonomous claims. Tesla Balances Autopilot Scrutiny Robotaxis And China Risks For Investors
Negative Sentiment: Price increases for the Cybertruck AWD (recent hikes) test consumer demand momentum and could pressure deliveries/pricing perception in the near term. Tesla Hikes Cybertruck AWD Price
Negative Sentiment: Competition and innovation globally (Waymo expansion, Xiaomi humanoid deployments, BYD dynamics) increase execution pressure across EV, autonomy and robotics — a headwind if Tesla’s product cadence or regulatory clears lag peers. Xiaomi Deploys Humanoid Robot at EV Plant

Tesla Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TSLA opened at $403.32 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a P/E ratio of 373.44, a P/E/G ratio of 14.33 and a beta of 1.86. Tesla, Inc. has a 1-year low of $214.25 and a 1-year high of $498.83. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $431.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $422.03. 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 (NASDAQ:TSLA – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.05. Tesla had a net margin of 4.00% and a return on equity of 4.86%. The firm had revenue of $24.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.73 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on TSLA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Tesla from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $508.00 price target on Tesla in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. New Street Research increased 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. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $405.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Tesla from $509.00 to $519.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and nine have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $408.09.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Tesla

Tesla Profile

(Free Report)

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.