Tesla share: Asset manager has increased Tesla stake – and sold shares of this carmaker

shares in this article

• Tesla stock under pressure in 2022
• Asset manager increased stakes in Tesla and Plug Power
• General Motors stock sold

Tesla stock will lose significant value in 2022

After Tesla shares were still listed at around 350 US dollars on the US tech exchange NASDAQ at the end of 2021, the paper cost only around 123 US dollars at the end of last year. In 2022, Tesla shares lost 65 percent of their value. This year, however, the development looks better so far. Since the beginning of the year, the paper has risen by around 17 percent. Tesla shares were last listed at $144.43 (closing price on January 25, 2023).

Most recently, the electric car manufacturer was confronted with a number of problems. Tesla delivered 1.31 million vehicles in 2022 as a whole, but fell short of its own expectations and those of the analysts. Some analysts see a demand problem at Tesla. This assumption was recently reinforced by Tesla’s price cuts in China, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Germany and the USA. In addition, the sale of Tesla shares has had a negative impact in the past Elon Musk and concerns about the shift in focus by the Tesla boss from the electric car manufacturer to the short message service Twitter, which was acquired in 2022.

Wealth manager hits Tesla stock

Despite the challenges for the Musk group, a large European asset manager – possibly due to the fall in price – saw the right time to expand its Tesla position. In the fourth quarter of 2022, DNB Asset Management, a unit of DNB, Norway’s largest financial services company, increased its investment in the electric car maker by 16.5 percent. While at the end of the third quarter of 2022 there were still 530,164 Tesla shares worth $140.63 million in the portfolio, at the end of the fourth quarter there were 617,655 shares worth $76.08 million, as can be seen from the at forms filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Investment in Plug Power increased

In addition to Tesla, DNB Asset Management also increased its stake in the US hydrogen company Plug Power by around 12.8 percent. While DNB Asset Management held 1.9 million Plug Power shares valued at $39.99 million as of September 30, 2022, there were around 2.15 million shares in the portfolio at the end of the fourth quarter Worth $26.55 million.

The Plug Power share also had to cope with a significant loss in 2022. The paper lost around 56 percent in value on the NASDAQ during the difficult year on the stock exchange. But the performance of the Plug Power share in the new year is impressive: in 2023 the share had already increased by more than 30 percent and was last listed at 16.34 US dollars (closing price on January 25, 2023).

Participation in General Motors significantly reduced

While DNB Asset Management has increased its investments in Tesla and Plug Power, the asset manager reduced its stake in a traditional US automaker: General Motors. At the end of the third quarter of 2022, DNB Asset Management held 897,961 General Motors shares worth $28.82 million. In the fourth quarter, the asset manager reduced its holding by a significant 76 percent, leaving 210,901 GM shares worth $7.09 million in its portfolio as of December 31, 2022.

General Motors stock also went down last year. While the paper was still worth $58.63 on the NYSE at the end of 2021, it was only worth $33.64 at the end of last year – a drop of more than 40 percent. In the new year, however, the paper was able to post gains – albeit not as clearly as Tesla or even Plug Power. Since the beginning of the year, GM shares have risen by almost eight percent to USD 36.32 (closing price on January 23, 2023).

The changes in the asset manager’s portfolio in the fourth quarter of 2022 suggest that DNB Asset Management currently sees good opportunities in shares in companies from the hydrogen and electromobility sectors, such as Tesla and Plug Power, after they suffered severe losses last year – and that the asset manager relies more on e-mobility than on traditional car manufacturers. It remains to be seen how the shares will perform this year and whether the portfolio adjustment will prove to be the right decision.

Editorial office finanzen.net

Image sources: Nadezda Murmakova / Shutterstock.com