T. Rowe Price Associates Inc. sold roughly 81% of its shares of Tesla Inc. over the first three months of the year, marking a sharp retreat for a firm that for years had been one of the electric-car maker’s biggest investors.
The fund manager held 1.7 million Tesla shares as of March 31, 2019, down from 8.9 million shares at the end of 2018, according to a Wednesday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
T. Rowe
TROW, 0.64% declined to comment on the move, while Tesla didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The move by T. Rowe comes as Tesla shares
TSLA, +4.03% have logged a 30% loss for the year through Wednesday, compared with the S&P 500’s
SPX, 0.52% 14% gain.