Tesla Splits Stock to Make Lofty Shares Attainable Again
- Move follows Apple and may presage other splits, analyst says
- Shares surge 7% before the start of regular trading Wednesday
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Tesla Inc. is splitting its richly valued shares in a 5-for-1 exchange, a move designed to make the stock less expensive for individual investors after the company become the world’s most valuable automaker.
Each stockholder of record on Aug. 21 will receive a dividend of four additional shares of common stock for each one they own, the electric-car maker said Tuesday in a statement. The shares, which have more than quadrupled since March to close above $1,600 last month, pared a gain of as much as 7% early Wednesday to trade up 4.8% to $1,440.63 as of 9:46 a.m. in New York.