Associated Banc Corp Buys 2,783 Shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)

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 boosted its holdings in shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA - Free Report) by 76.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor 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 institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 86.3% during the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 95 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. First PREMIER Bank raised its holdings in shares of Tesla by 79.2% in the first quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 95 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Newton One Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Tesla by 250.0% in the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 105 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI bought a new position in shares of Tesla in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of Tesla by 79.5% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 70 shares of the electric vehicle producer's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.20% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Tesla

In other Tesla news, Director Ira Matthew Ehrenpreis sold 477,572 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $357.30, for a total value of $170,636,475.60. Following the sale, the director owned 855,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $305,632,276.20. The trade was a 35.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kimbal Musk sold 91,588 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $357.39, for a total value of $32,732,635.32. Following the sale, the director owned 1,463,220 shares in the company, valued at approximately $522,940,195.80. This represents a 5.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 602,724 shares of company stock worth $214,176,831. 20.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America lifted their price target on Tesla from $305.00 to $341.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. BNP Paribas set a $137.00 price target on Tesla and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Glj Research reaffirmed a "sell" rating on shares of Tesla in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $410.00 price objective on shares of Tesla in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Sunday, July 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $303.31.

Tesla Stock Up 2.3%

NASDAQ TSLA traded up $7.34 during trading on Friday, hitting $329.61. The stock had a trading volume of 90,979,625 shares, compared to its average volume of 89,568,456. The company has a market capitalization of $1.06 trillion, a PE ratio of 190.53, a P/E/G ratio of 11.32 and a beta of 2.33. The company's 50-day moving average price is $318.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $308.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.04. Tesla, Inc. has a 12 month low of $194.67 and a 12 month high of $488.54.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.40 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 the consensus estimate of $23.18 billion. Tesla had a net margin of 6.54% and a return on equity of 7.98%. The company's revenue was down 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

About Tesla

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.