Retail Buys $326M While Institutions Slash Tesla Stakes by Up to 80%
UBS slashed its Tesla stake by 74% to $9.1bn and Nomura cut holdings by 80% to $545m as funds sold tens of millions of shares. Retail investors bought $326m of Tesla during Feb.12-18, the fourth-largest weekly retail net buy, even as shares fell 9% in January.
1. Institutional Sell-Off
Per end-of-quarter filings, UBS reduced its Tesla stake by about 59 million shares (74%) to a $9.1bn position, Nomura sold nearly 5 million shares (80%) leaving $545m, and Goldman and Morgan Stanley also trimmed their holdings, collectively offloading tens of millions of shares.
2. Retail Investor Inflows
Data on Feb.12-18 show retail investors added $326m of Tesla stock, ranking it the fourth-largest weekly retail net buy behind Nvidia, Amazon and Microsoft, underscoring strong retail conviction despite institutional exits and Tesla’s ambitious capital expenditure plans.
3. Share Price Trends
Tesla shares have fallen roughly 9% in January, testing investor resilience as debate intensifies over whether long-term AI and autonomous aspirations outweigh short-term automotive slowdown and hefty capex requirements.