Tesla stock closed at a new all-time high on Monday, its third this month, bringing its 2020 returns to a taint-tickling 650%.
Now, Tesla wants to cash in on the abundant investor interest… again.
The Musk-led wunderstock is looking to raise an additional $5 billion, having recently filed to sell the equivalent of 0.8% of the company’s outstanding shares, reports MarketWatch.
The move comes just three months after Tesla’s share price sank 16% in one day after the company disclosed a separate $5 billion offering, contributing to what MarketWatch noted was its biggest drop in history.
It’s hard to blame Tesla. Why not cash in when the price is high?
After all, Tesla is now one of the largest companies in the world, having exploded into the top 10 this year.
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Just six US-listed stocks boast bigger market values than Tesla: Alibaba, Facebook, Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, and Apple.
Besides, it’s a matter of weeks until the company enters the S&P 500 index. When that happens, large index-tracking mutual funds will be forced to add the stock to their hefty portfolios, and some analysts say this could lead to further rallies.
And so, the trick is to part with $5 billion worth of stock without tanking its healthy share price. To mitigate the damage, Tesla reportedly says it will sell the shares from “time to time.”
Extra points if Tesla’s accountant can time the sales to match the increased demand from pension funds and the like come December 21.
But while September saw the market temporarily bury Tesla’s share price on news of it readying to dump billions of dollars worth stock, today’s response hasn’t been as drastic.
Tesla stock is currently trading at $628.61 — 3% below yesterday’s intraday record high of $648.79.
So far so good.
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