Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) has officially crossed the $1,800 per share mark for the first time and set a new record high during trading hours on Monday. The stock reached a price as high as $1,816.89 per share.
Earlier today, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives increased his price target for the electric automaker from $1,800 to $1,900 on optimism that the company would dominate the European and Chinese markets.
In pre-market trading, TSLA rose as much as 2% in part to Ives’ note, where he indicated that Wedbush believed Tesla would continue to experience increased demand in markets outside the United States.
“We are seeing more leverage in the story now on the horizon out of Giga 3 along with some price cuts both in the U.S. and China that could further stimulate demand as the macro starts to improve and the lockdown conditions ease globally… To this point, robust Model 3 demand out of China remains a linchpin of success and appears to be on a run rate to hit 150k unit deliveries in the first year out of the gates for Giga 3 which is driving some strength for Tesla as well as Model Y deliveries starting to ramp as well,” Ives wrote.
During the trading day on Monday, TSLA stock spiked because of Ives’ letter to investors that talked about international demand and highlighted the company’s battery technology developments, which are expected to be unveiled at Tesla’s Battery Day event on September 22.
The electric automaker’s stock opened at $1,677. At the time of writing, TSLA was trading at $1,813.65, up $162.94, or 9.87%.
Tesla experienced a surge in price during trading last week as well, gaining over $250 in price per share from Tuesday to Friday.
The electric automaker announced on Tuesday, August 11, that its Board of Directors had approved a 5:1 split for the company’s stock in the form of a dividend. The stock split will be distributed on August 28, and trading will begin on a stock split-adjusted basis on Monday, August 31.
The split will allow young and retail investors to buy the electric automaker’s stock, which is showing tremendous potential as Tesla continues to improve its vehicles and expand its market.
Tesla is building a new production facility in Germany, known as Giga Berlin, and its second factory in the U.S. in Austin, known as Giga Texas. The new production facilities will increase the company’s European presence with the Berlin plant, and customers located in the Eastern half of North America will receive their vehicles from Giga Texas.
Disclosure: I have no ownership in shares of TSLA and have no plans to initiate any positions within 72 hours.