What happened
Shares of Tesla (TSLA 12.06%) soared on Thursday, rising more than 7% as of 3:00 p.m. EDT.
The stock's gain builds on recent momentum since the announcement of an upcoming five-for-one stock split. This momentum and an overall bullish day for growth stocks (like Tesla) are likely behind the stock's rise on Thursday.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
So what
Shares of Tesla have been on a tear recently. The stock is now up nearly 800% over the past 12 months and 24% in the past five trading days alone. Investors -- and even some analysts -- have cheered the company's upcoming stock split, betting it will solicit more demand for the stock at a time when many retail investors are turning to individual stocks. This pre-stock split momentum seems to be continuing today.
Though the imminent split is probably not one of the main reasons Tesla stock is trading higher on Thursday, one headline that could have a slightly positive impact on price action today comes from the Asian news website Nikkei. The news website reports that Panasonic plans to invest more than $100 million next year in battery-production capacity at Tesla's factory in Nevada. In addition to boosting production capacity at the factory, the company is upgrading the storage capacity of the batteries it is making by 5% in September, according to Nikkei.
Now what
Tesla's business recovered quickly from factory shutdowns earlier this year. The company recently reinitiated its pre-COVID guidance for 500,000 vehicle deliveries this year, up from about 368,000 deliveries in 2019.
Tesla shares will begin trading on a five-for-one split-adjusted basis on Aug. 31.
