Tesla smashed fourth quarter delivery forecasts of its family of electric vehicles over the weekend, prompting a surge of buying that drove the stock to within a whisker of $1,200.
Shares in the world’s most valuable carmaker jumped 13.5% to close on Monday at $1,199.78, marking the biggest daily percentage gain in nearly 10 months. That gives Tesla a $1.2 trillion market cap, only the fifth S&P 500 index member to top a $1 trillion valuation.
SURGE IN DELIVERIES
Tesla delivered 308,600 EVs in the fourth quarter, higher than analysts’ forecasts of 263,026 vehicles, according to Reuters data, including its Model 3 compact cars, Model Y sport-utility vehicles and flagship Model S and Model X vehicles.
Analysts expect the strong delivery numbers to bolster 2022 expectations and see the pace of expansion of its new factories in Berlin and Texas to be a big help.
RBC Capital Markets revised its quarterly revenue estimate, bumping it up by $2.3 billion, while analysts also raised profit estimates.
Investors and analysts were particularly impressed by Tesla’s ability to outpace market expectations despite widespread industry component shortages as a global logistics crunch and factory closures due to the pandemic limit supplies of vital microchips, among others items.