Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA): How Are The Bears Trading It?

Nowadays, there are a significant amount of metrics for Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) investors to keep an eye on, but it’s useful to monitor a stock’s shorts. A couple pieces of data we can use are: (a) the percentage of a stock’s float that the shorts are presently shorting, and (b) the change in short selling activity.

Heightened bearish shorting typically indicates what you’d think: the market’s big players have become less bullish on the stock. Short selling that’s too high, however, sometimes has a bullish effect on share price, as short-ers can be forced to buy their stock.

At Insider Monkey, it is not a secret that we pay attention to the smart money’s interest, but it is also important to combine this data with overall short data. In certain instances, big time investors might share that they’re bearish on a certain stock, but it is not an SEC requirement. Nevertheless, many retail investors may want to avoid heavily short sold equities with high hedgie support, while others may want short-squeeze plays. For investors searching for a time-tested piggybacking strategy, discover the details of our premium strategy.

Let us take a glance at the recent info pertaining to Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA).

Studying the latest FINRA data, which is reported twice every month, we can discover that Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) sports a short interest of 31.05% of float. This is a -29% change from the prior filing period at the end of April. With a float of 74.15M shares, this represents a days to cover ratio below 1.6.

It is also crucial to monitor hedge fund holdings via their 13F filings. According to our data, Cupps Capital Management, managed by Drew Cupps, holds the largest position in Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA). Cupps Capital Management has a $21.5 million position in the stock, comprising 2.2% of its 13F portfolio. The 2nd biggest stake is held by William Duhamel of Route One Investment Company, with a $18.9 million call position; 2.9% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining hedge funds that are bullish include Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management, John Griffin’s Blue Ridge Capital and Alexander Mitchell’s Scopus Asset Management.

Also, bullish insider trading is particularly usable when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest six-month time period, Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 6 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s check out activity in other stocks similar to Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA). These stocks are Honda Motor Co Ltd (ADR) (NYSE:HMC), Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F), General Motors Company (NYSE:GM), and Tata Motors Limited (ADR) (NYSE:TTM). This group of stocks belong to the auto manufacturers – major industry and their market caps are similar to TSLA’s market cap.

These three tools–short sale information, hedge fund data and insider sentiment–are something every reader should track. Although it is hard to find a practical strategy from short selling filings, the latter two give plenty of market beating opportunities if you know where to look.