Tesla Stock Begins Trading On Split-Adjusted Basis: What You Need To Know

Analysts are adjusting price targets and investors are double checking their portfolios after the most valuable (and arguably most popular) automaker split its stock into three. 

What Happened: Tesla Inc TSLA shares began trading on a split-adjusted basis Thursday following a three-for-one stock split.

At the beginning of August, Tesla's board approved a three-for-one split of Tesla’s common stock in the form of a stock dividend "to make stock ownership more accessible to employees and investors."

On Thursday, each stockholder of record as of Aug. 17 received a dividend of two additional shares of common stock for each share held. 

Stock splits don't actually change anything fundamental about the company splitting its stock, yet a cheaper share price can make the stock more accessible to a larger number of investors, as Tesla said when it announced the split.  

See Also: WATCH: Self-Driving Tesla Slams Itself Into Guardrail, Car Totaled

Why It Matters: Tesla last split its stock on a five-for-one basis in August 2020. The stock is up more than 120% since that time. 

The Elon Musk-led company joins a growing list of big tech companies to announce splits this year.

Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL split its stock on a 20-for-1 basis in mid-July. Amazon.com Inc AMZN began trading on a split-adjusted basis at the beginning of June. 

A cheaper share price can make a stock appear more accessible. At the very least, stock splits tend to lead to increased investor attention. Tesla was the top trending ticker on Stocktwits at last check.    

TSLA Price Action: On a split-adjusted basis, Tesla has a 52-week high of $414.49 and a 52-week low of $206.85.

The stock was down 0.96% at $294.33 at press time, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo: courtesy of Tesla.