There seems to be no stopping Tesla stock, at least not recently. The stock rose again Thursday, marking a remarkable eight-session run.
But although Tesla (ticker: TSLA) stock is on a tear, the recent trading action doesn’t seem to line up with any fundamental revelations about the company or the EV market. It is just another lesson of how stocks move more quickly than the fundamental factors underpinning the prices.
Thursday, Tesla (ticker: TSLA) stock closed up 1.5% at $1,013.92. Over the past eight trading days, the stock has gained about 32%. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average are up about 8% and 5%, respectively.
Thursday’s close is the highest since Jan. 18, when shares ended the day at $1,030.51, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Jan. 18 was also the most recent previous time Tesla closed above $1,000.
It’s the best streak of gains since the 11 trading days ended Jan. 8, 2021. And it leaves Tesla up about 16% for the month, on pace for the best month since October, when shares rose more than 43%. Tesla shares have gained almost 60% over the past 12 months and are up almost 80% from their 52-week low of $563.46 set back in May.
It all represents a remarkable turnaround. Tesla stock dropped seven of the first 10 trading days of March. Shares fell about 12% between the end of February and March 14.
Back then, investors appeared to be worried about inflation affecting profit margins and hurting demand for new cars.
Now, investors are focused again on growth. Tesla opened its Berlin factory this week, to much fanfare. The plant is expected to produce as many as 100,000 vehicles in 2022 and has a design capacity of about 500,000.
But there isn’t much else to the narrative. There haven’t been any big upgrades or downgrades from large Wall Street brokerages. Since the beginning of the month, Wall Street firms’ forecasts for Tesla’s earnings have hardly changed. The average target for the stock price among analysts is actually down roughly $20 a share, going to about $940 from $960 since the end of February.
For investors, growth simply now trumps inflation.
The next big fundamental data point that might move Tesla shares is first-quarter deliveries, due out around April 2. Wall Street projects more than 320,000 units to be delivered.
What the numbers will do to the stock, and where the shares might be when the data is released, is anyone’s guess.
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