Rollins Financial Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Tesla, Inc. $TSLA

Rollins Financial Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) by 34.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 37,368 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock after selling 19,791 shares during the period. Tesla comprises about 2.5% of Rollins Financial Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Rollins Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Tesla were worth $16,618,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TSLA. Chapman Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Tesla in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Tesla in the third quarter valued at $29,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Tesla in the second quarter valued at $30,000. ESL Trust Services LLC raised its stake in Tesla by 1,900.0% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Delos Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Tesla during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.20% of the company’s stock.

Tesla News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Tesla sued the California DMV to overturn a ruling that labeled its FSD/Autopilot marketing “false advertising,” a move that, if successful, would remove a regulatory overhang and reduce legal uncertainty for future sales and software rollout. Tesla sues California DMV to reverse ruling that company engaged in false advertising on FSD
• Positive Sentiment: Progress on Optimus and robotics remains a core bullish narrative — bullish pieces argue humanoid robotics could re‑rate Tesla away from pure EV multiples toward a higher‑growth AI/robotics valuation. Tesla’s Optimus Robot Could Reach Human-Level Proficiency in 2026 — Time to Buy?
• Positive Sentiment: At least one bank (Erste Group) has raised earnings estimates for Tesla, providing an analyst‑backed counterpoint to some of the negative sales headlines. Erste Group Bank Increases Earnings Estimates for Tesla
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation debate: Tesla’s P/E sits near a multi‑year high, splitting analysts between “buy the AI story” and “too stretched,” meaning price moves will be sensitive to execution news. Tesla’s P/E Is Near a 5-Year High—Buy Signal or Panic Signal?
• Neutral Sentiment: Tesla is running a short, time‑limited Cybertruck promotion (Musk says a 10‑day deal) — could support near‑term demand but also signals pressure on pricing. Tesla Cybertruck Deal May Last Only 10 Days: Musk Says New Price Will Depend ‘On How Much Demand’ At $60K
• Negative Sentiment: European demand weakness: January EU registrations fell ~17% and BYD is gaining share rapidly — near‑term sales pressure in a key market and a clear competitive threat. Tesla’s Europe problem keeps getting worse. Here’s why
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/financial risk: a judge upheld a $243M jury verdict tied to an Autopilot crash, a ruling that could pressure earnings or increase insurance/legal exposure. Tesla loses crucial Autopilot ruling that could cost hundreds of millions
• Negative Sentiment: Other legal/headline risks: a U.S. judge refused to dismiss a hiring‑bias lawsuit alleging discrimination in hiring practices — adds to headline/legal noise even if prospects of plaintiff success are uncertain. Tesla must face lawsuit alleging anti-American bias in hiring, US judge rules
• Negative Sentiment: Market sentiment and compensation concerns: Reddit sentiment has soured YTD and commentators (e.g., Ross Gerber) are flagging the real cost of stock‑based compensation — both can amplify downside in a high‑PE name. TSLA Is Down 11% in 2026 and Reddit Is Losing Faith Fast Ross Gerber Highlights Meta’s ‘$23.6 Billion’ Share Buyback Cost, Warns TSLA Shareholders About Stock Compensation

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Tesla from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Tesla from $509.00 to $519.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $508.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Tesla from $341.00 to $471.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, CICC Research boosted their price target on shares of Tesla from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and nine have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Tesla presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $408.09.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kimbal Musk sold 56,820 shares of Tesla stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.66, for a total value of $25,606,501.20. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,757 shares in the company, valued at $6,107,145.01. This represents a 16.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 119,457 shares of company stock valued at $53,501,145. 19.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Tesla Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of TSLA opened at $409.38 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.54 trillion, a PE ratio of 379.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 14.13 and a beta of 1.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $437.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $420.08. Tesla, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $214.25 and a fifty-two week high of $498.83. 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 (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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.73 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast 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.