2. Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)
Renaissance Technologies’ Stake Value: $1.67 billion
Percentage of Renaissance Technologies’ 13F Portfolio: 1.96%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 91
Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies increased its stake in EV-maker Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) by 110% in the first quarter of 2022, coming in at 1.55 million shares valued at $1.67 billion. The company’s shares have lost 33.48% in the last month, as the market reacts nervously to founder Elon Musk’s $44 billion proposal to buy social media firm Twitter (NYSE:TWTR).
On May 19, Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives lowered the firm’s price target on Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) to $1,000 from $1,400, and kept an ‘Outperform’ rating on the company shares. The success of the firm’s demand and supply story in China underpins the analyst’s long-term bullish stance on the EV maker. However, the supply chain issues in China due to the Shanghai lockdowns have been “an epic disaster”, according to the analyst, who sees a slower growth trajectory for Tesla in the key market of China into the second half of the year.
Investors were seen piling into Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA). At the close of the fourth quarter of 2021, 91 hedge funds were long on the company shares, as opposed to 60 in the previous quarter. Cathie Wood was the largest shareholder of the firm in the first quarter of 2022, with her ARK Investment Management holding a $1.71 billion stake.
Quarterly revenue at the end of March was recorded at $18.76 billion, above estimates by $917.8 million. Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) posted EPS of $3.22 in the first quarter, beating analysts’ forecasts by $0.95.
Here is what investment firm Baron Funds had to say about Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) in its Q1 2022 investor letter:
“During the first quarter, we bought back shares in Tesla, Inc., which designs, manufactures, and sells electric vehicles, solar products, energy storage solutions, and batteries. We believe that despite the run in the stock over the last few years, Tesla presents a favorable risk/reward profile and remains a Big Idea with only about 1% market share of the automotive market. Since we bought the stock during the first quarter, shares increased 27.1%, despite a complex supply-chain environment, on continued revenue growth and record profitability. Robust demand and operational optimization allow the company to offset inflationary pressures while vertical integration provides flexibility around supply bottlenecks. Moreover, we expect new localized manufacturing capacity to drive additional efficiencies while software initiatives, including the autonomous driving program, are accelerating, offering valuable optionality to the stock.”
