Will Tesla’s Solid Delivery Figures Change the Smart Money’s Mind about the Stock?

However, hedge funds are cautious on Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA). According to our data, 26 hedge funds owned $1.39 billion worth of the company’s stock, which represented 4.10% of the float at the end of June, versus 29 funds with stakes worth $1.04 billion a quarter earlier. Moreover, among the funds we track, many own positions in ‘Put’ options underlying shares of Tesla. Ken Griffin‘s Citadel Investment Group increased its position by 34% to 1.37 million shares held in ‘Put’ options during the second quarter, while Paul J. Isaac’s Arbiter Partners Capital Management reported a ‘Put’ stake underlying 842,000 shares. Overall, 25.94 million shares, or 25.7% of the float, were short on September 15 versus 22.19 million shares on September 15, 2014. Among investors that own shares of the company, Daniel Benton’s Andor Capital management reported holding 1.0 million shares in its latest 13F.

Despite the fact that Tesla is considered overvalued by the smart money, analysts are very optimistic about the company’s prospects. A couple of days ago, three analysts reiterated their bullish ratings, including Global Equities Research and Oppenheimer, which have ‘Overweight’ and ‘Outperform’ ratings with price targets of $385 and $340, respectively, while Stifel Nicolaus re-confirmed its ‘Buy’ rating with a target of $400 per share. Tesla is capable of reaching this price over the long-term, but as for now, the smart money needs to see more evidence in order to change its mind regarding the stock.

Disclosure: none