Tesla Stock Splits After Today’s Close. Monday’s Trading Could Be Crazy.
A Tesla car in Germany in 2015.
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The day has arrived. Stock in the electric-vehicle pioneer Tesla is splitting 5 for 1 after the market closes for trading.
Tesla (ticker: TSLA) shares will open on Monday at roughly $450—one-fifth of where the stock currently trades. Stock-split math and figures associated with it generally don’t amount to much, but Tesla is the exception.
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With Tesla stock, the numbers are always part of the story.
The shares were up 958% over the past year as of Thursday’s closing price. The stock has gained about 430% year to date—crushing comparable gains of the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average and leaving the company with a market capitalization of more than $417 billion.
Since the split was announced, Tesla shares have gained 61%. That gain makes this week’s 8% jump look small. (Tesla shares were up another 1.9% in late morning trading on Friday trading, but closed down 1.1%.) The numbers since the split announcement are amazing to behold. Tesla might appear to be worth about $160 billion more because it trades at a lower absolute price.
It isn’t all the stock split, though. Estimates of Tesla’s earnings and analysts’ forecasts for the stock price are rising. Investors are optimistic about Sept. 22, when Tesla will devote a day to explaining developments in battery technology. Investors are hoping for word on costs, how far Tesla might be able to extend the range its vehicles can travel on a single charge, and how long its batteries will last.
The battery day is the next big factor following the split that could move the stock. What happens after the split itself is anyone’s guess.
Few pundits predicted a gain of more than 60% in the aftermath of the Aug. 11 stock-split news. Investors might have been piling into Tesla shares before the split in anticipation of higher demand from individual investors Monday.