5 investors are betting big on Tesla (TSLA) stocks right now

All eyes are on You’re here (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock today after the leading electric vehicle (EV) company released its fourth quarter results yesterday. During the quarter, Tesla produced a total of 439,701 vehicles and delivered 405,278 vehicles. This translated into revenue of $24.3 billion, up 37% year over year (YOY). Analysts polled by Refinitiv expected revenue of $24.16 billion for the period.

Specifically, automotive revenue reached $21.3 billion, up 33% year-on-year. Additionally, $467 million in automotive revenue was attributed to regulatory credits. Meanwhile, adjusted earnings per share (PES) hit $1.19 versus analysts’ estimate of $1.13 per share. The company reported adjusted EPS of 85 cents a year ago.

That said, Tesla’s automotive gross margin hit 25.9%, which is “the lowest number in the last five quarters.” This figure was affected by supply chain inefficiencies and average selling prices which “have generally been on a downward trajectory for many years”.

For 2023, Tesla has a production target of 1.8 million vehicles. Asked about the forecast falling short of expectations, CEO Elon Musk said the following:

“We say 1.8 because there always seems to be a force majeure event happening somewhere on Earth. We don’t control whether there are earthquakes, tsunamis, wars, pandemics, etc. If it’s a smooth year without a big supply chain disruption or massive problem, we have the potential to produce 2 million cars this year. I think there would also be a demand for that.

5 investors are betting big on TSLA stocks right now

Tracking institutional ownership is important because these large investors provide liquidity and support for stocks. During the third quarter, 2,639 healthy 13F filers disclosed ownership of TSLA shares, an increase of 100 filers from the prior quarter. Meanwhile, the institutional put/call ratio stands at 1.02, down from 0.95. This equates to 268.75 million puts and 262.36 million calls, implying a neutral options position. With that in mind, let’s take a look at Tesla’s major shareholders:

1. Elon Musk: 423.62 million shares. Musk’s bet is accurate as of December 14.
2. Avant-garde: 213.02 million shares. Vanguard bought 8.3 million shares during the third quarter.
3. black rock (NYSE:noir): 171.86 million shares. BlackRock purchased 5.75 million shares during the third quarter.
4. State Street (NYSE:STT): 99.64 million shares. State Street purchased 4.28 million shares during the third quarter.
5. Capital World Investors: 90.16 million shares. Capital World sold 344,888 shares during the third quarter.

At the date of publication, Eddie Pan held (neither directly nor indirectly) any position in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, subject to InvestorPlace.com Publication guidelines.