For years, investors who bought short positions have bet on Tesla, betting that the company’s stock price has fallen and profited from it. In January of this year, the value of these short positions plummeted as Tesla’s stock price soared 55% and it continued to hit record highs.
Editor’s note: This article comes from “Tencent Technology” , compiled: Mingxuan . Reprinted with permission.
According to foreign media reports, Tesla’s stock price has recently reached record highs, which means that the company’s CEO Elon Musk has won in a long battle with short sellers. In January this year, short Tesla investors suffered a record loss of $ 5.8 billion in January.
For many years, investors who bought short positions have bet on Tesla, betting that the company’s stock price has fallen and profited from it. In January of this year, the value of these short positions plummeted as Tesla’s stock price soared 55% and it continued to hit record highs.
Tesla’s financial report released last Wednesday showed that the company’s fourth-quarter revenue reached US $ 7.38 billion, exceeding market expectations of US $ 7.06 billion; net profit reached US $ 105 million, a second consecutive quarter of loss-making; adjusted Earnings per share were $ 2.14, exceeding market expectations of $ 1.74. On the following trading day, Tesla’s share price hit its largest single-day gain since May 2013. At that time, Tesla released its first quarterly earnings report.
Statistics provided by fintech and analytics company S3 Partners show that Tesla short sellers have the largest monthly loss on record, and the largest short position in the US securities market by S & P 500 companies in January. loss. The second-largest loss was for investors who shorted Apple shares, with a combined loss of $ 1.3 billion for the month.
“This is the equivalent of a great escape,” said Ihor Dusaniwsky, director of predictive analytics at S3 Partners. He said that many short sellers may still have positions, counting on Tesla’s stock price to fall, or slowly decline over time. “It will take a while to get rid of it.”
Musk has argued fiercely with prominent short sellers including Green Light Capital’s David Einhorn. Green Light Capital has been bearish on the electric car maker for a long time. In a letter to shareholders in January this year, Green Light Capital revealed that the company holds Tesla put options. If the stock price falls, the option will appreciate, but if the stock price rises, compared to the typical short position, this option will not lose much. Eindhorn has previously accused Tesla of “continuing to put its PR skills to the foreAnd put the safety and fair treatment of customers behind. “He also claimed that Musk had arranged a $ 2.6 billion acquisition when SolarCity went bankrupt and deliberately planned a major fraud. Musk and his family had a huge conflict of interest , But Musk did not properly avoid it, but initiated the transaction and promoted the transaction process.
Like Green Light, investment company Stanphyl Capital also chose to continue to hold Tesla’s short position. The company’s managing partner, Mark Spiegel, said, “Tesla’s revenue and profits in the second half of 2019 have fallen year-on-year, which means that the company’s prospects are weaker than it looks.”
“The only thing this so-called ultra-fast-growing company has grown is the increasing number of non-profit electric vehicle deliveries and stock prices,” Spiegel said. The strength of established automakers in the electric vehicle business will also put pressure on Tesla’s future stock price. “The real competition in the electric vehicle industry is just emerging. We still choose to short Tesla and will continue to hold short positions,” he said.
Toby Clothier, an analyst at brokerage Mirabaud Securities, said Tesla achieved a profit of $ 105 million in the fourth quarter, which can be considered a loss because it was sold in the fourth quarter Of the electric vehicles, 7,000 were produced in the third quarter. In addition, Tesla predicts that production at the Shanghai plant will be delayed by one week. “If you take a closer look at Tesla’s financial data, you will find that something is confusing. This company does not make money at all, and the capital intensity is quite high.
As of now, Tesla has not commented on this report. The company’s stock rose 1.52% against the Nasdaq stock market on Friday, closing at $ 650.57. Over the past 52 weeks, the company’s lowest share price was $ 176.99 and its highest share price was $ 653.00. Based on the closing price, the company’s market value is about $ 117.3 billion.