- A low-key US asset manager bet on Tesla back in 2011 – and now the stock has surged nearly 15,000% since then.
- Jennison Associates' gamble was all thanks to a 27-year old analyst, Owuraka Koney.
A secretive US asset manager bet big on Tesla back in 2011 when a 27-year old analyst saw the EV maker's potential – and now its stock is up nearly 15,000% since then.
New York-based Jennison Associates owns more than 20 million shares in the Elon Musk-led carmaker, racking up a stake that's currently worth around $5.9 billion. That also makes the asset manager one of Tesla's largest investors.
The growth equity manager's huge win all boils down to Owuraka Koney. In an exclusive interview with Bloomberg, the young analyst explained his bullishness on Tesla, and what led him to convince Jennison Associates to take a chance on the carmaker's stock.
From self-teaching himself about the EV industry to meeting Musk himself, Koney watched Tesla like a hawk. Then just a year after the automaker went public at $17 apiece, Koney was sold. "Owuraka believed that Tesla was going to revolutionize the auto industry," Kathleen McCarragher, head of growth equity at Jennison Associates, told Bloomberg.
Tesla's bespoke battery system, its "unique company culture" and structural cost advantages were just some of the factors Koney was impressed by, per the outlet.
"When I look at Tesla today, I'm no longer worried about survival," said Koney. "It's just a question of how successful they will be," Koney said.
Tesla has been an investor favorite for some time now. The company has become one of the best-performing stocks on the S&P 500, soaring more than 130% this year thanks to shining quarterly earnings, EV price cuts, and investor excitement about the tech industry amid an AI boom.
The company just made headlines for rolling out its first Cybertruck after years of delays, in what Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives noted will spur demand.
New-York based Jennison Associates typically keeps a low profile when it comes to their stock pickings, making this the first time they've publicly discussed their Tesla holding.
Tesla isn't the only win for the asset manager. Jennison likely made a stunning $5 billion gain on Nvidia stock this year with its nearly 1% stake in the semiconductor company, Insider's Theron Mohamed reported last month.