Did Nancy Pelosi Miss A Trick By Selling Tesla Ahead Of Breakout? EV Maker's Stock Up 35% Since Congresswoman's Trade
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) disclosed in a filing with Congress last week that she sold 2,500 Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares on June 24 and the value of the transaction was indicated as $250,001-$500,000.
Pelosi, whose trades invariably come under the scanner due to the insider information she is privy to due to her membership in House committees, may not have been so successful with her Tesla trade this time around.
What Happened: Pelosi’s disposal of Tesla on June 24 may have fetched her $456,450, assuming it was sold at $182.58 apiece, which happens to the session’s closing price. It is not yet known if the representative has fully cashed out of the stock.
Pelosi’s previous Tesla trade was also a sale transaction done on Dec. 20, 2022. She then reported a part sale of 5,000 Tesla shares at a price of $140.39, booking a loss of $511,197 on the trade.
Tesla has been on an extended downtrend since peaking in late 2021 amid an industry-wide demand slowdown and the impact of successive price cuts in 2023 on its margins.
After consolidating around the $168-$185 range between May and late June, Tesla broke above the trading range. The stock has closed higher in each session since June 25 and has gained 35% over seven sessions. In the process, it broke above the $200 barrier and settled Wednesday up 6.54% at $246.39, according to Benzinga Pro data.
The resurgence came amid positive expectations concerning Tesla’s second-quarter deliveries report after sell-side analysts significantly tempered their expectations. On Tuesday, Tesla reported above-consensus deliveries, although sales declined about 5% year-over-year.
The stock, which is now trading at a six-month high, may not be yet on solid footing. A bullish fund manager, who cashed out of much of his Tesla holdings in early 2024, said he wasn’t in a hurry to add back in, citing downward revisions to forward earnings estimates. He said he would wait for the quarterly earnings that will drop in later this month.
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Not-So Positive Move? Assuming Pelosi had held onto her Tesla stock, the 2,500 shares would now be worth $615,975. The differential with the sale price based on June 24’s closing price is roughly $105,000.
Since Pelosi’s exact purchase price can’t be ascertained, we may not know whether she made a profit/loss on the trade. But at least, this much is certain – Tesla’s stock rally potentially robbed her of about $100,000.
Pelosi, however, is known to be astute with her trades, which are mostly done by her husband Paul Pelosi, a businessman who runs San Francisco–based real estate and venture capital investment and consulting firm Financial Leasing Services.
Her huge bet on AI stalwart Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) alone may suffice to keep her balance sheet in the green.
Stock trading by members of Congress has kicked up controversy over its legitimacy, given the insider information they may have about the companies they invest in. The “Stock Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act” requires lawmakers to publicly file and disclose any financial transaction within 45 days of its occurrence.
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