Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) Shares Acquired by Associated Banc Corp

Key Points

• Associated Banc Corp increased its stock position in Tesla, Inc. by 76.8%, owning 6,407 shares worth approximately $1.66 million at the end of the first quarter.
• Multiple institutional investors also significantly raised their stakes in Tesla, with some, like Cherry Tree Wealth Management, increasing theirs by up to 86.3% during the same period.
• Despite high ratings from several analysts, Tesla’s stock has shown volatility, recently reporting a 0.2% decline and missing quarterly earnings expectations with an EPS of $0.40.

Associated Banc Corp raised its stake in shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Free Report) by 76.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,407 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock after buying an additional 2,783 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp's holdings in Tesla were worth $1,660,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in TSLA. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in Tesla by 79.5% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 70 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in Tesla in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 86.3% during the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 95 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 79.2% during the 1st quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 95 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Tesla during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Tesla

In related news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $600,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 5,924 shares in the company, valued at $1,777,200. This represents a 25.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Xiaotong Zhu sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.81, for a total transaction of $4,857,150.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 67,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,889,556. This represents a 18.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 606,724 shares of company stock valued at $215,376,831 over the last three months. 20.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on TSLA shares. HSBC reissued a "reduce" rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. China Renaissance restated a "hold" rating and set a $349.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Truist Financial set a $280.00 price objective on Tesla in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Cfra Research downgraded Tesla from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $303.31.

Tesla Stock Up 3.6%

TSLA stock traded up $11.19 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $319.91. 78,040,129 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 91,306,952. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.03 trillion, a P/E ratio of 184.92, a PEG ratio of 10.85 and a beta of 2.33. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $319.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $309.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Tesla, Inc. has a 1 year low of $191.48 and a 1 year high of $488.54.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $22.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.18 billion. Tesla had a return on equity of 7.98% and a net margin of 6.54%. Tesla's revenue for the quarter was down 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Tesla Profile

Tesla, Inc designs, develops, manufactures, leases, and sells electric vehicles, and energy generation and storage systems in the United States, China, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Automotive, and Energy Generation and Storage. The Automotive segment offers electric vehicles, as well as sells automotive regulatory credits; and non-warranty after-sales vehicle, used vehicles, body shop and parts, supercharging, retail merchandise, and vehicle insurance services.