Tesla
stock closed higher for a second straight day, but moves in the Treasury market seem to have more to do with it than the latest news about pay and compensation for Chief Executive Elon Musk.
The electric-vehicle company closed up 6.2% at $200.45 on Thursday. The S&P 500 was up 0.6%. The Nasdaq Composite was up 0.3%.
Investors have been watching developments regarding a Delaware court’s January decision to void CEO Elon Musk’s $56 billion pay package following a challenge by a shareholder. A court letter, reported by Reuters Wednesday, said Musk and the
Tesla
shareholder will ask the judge to put the ruling on hold until an appeal is resolved.
That news isn’t likely to have moved the stock. An appeal had been expected. Tesla didn’t respond to a request for comment about the letter.
Also Wednesday, the company filed papers with the Securities and Exchange Commission detailing Musk’s holding of Tesla stock. The filings show he controls just over 20% of the company, including the options that are part of the Delaware ruling. That is unchanged from a year ago, a sign that the CEO’s holdings haven’t been affected by the Delaware decision.
There have been several headlines talking about Musk taking his ownership of Tesla stock above 20%.
Future Fund Active ETF
co-founder, and Tesla shareholder, Gary Black dismissed those as a good reason for the Thursday move pointing out the structure—stock and stock options—and the total number of shares Musk controls are unchanged.
Perhaps investors took the filing as a sign the CEO’s holdings haven’t been affected by the Delaware decision. That might be a reason for the excitement, but the case isn’t over yet.
The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield was a little lower in Thursday trading, a positive factor for car stocks. Many cars are purchased with financing, so vehicles are more affordable when borrowing costs fall.
Most car stocks rose on Thursday. Rivian shares were up 5.2%.
The decline in yields on Thursday followed a gain of about 0.1 percentage point on Tuesday, when news that inflation fell less than expected in January raised expectations that the Federal Reserve will hold off on cutting interest rates for longer than investors had expected. Most car stocks traded lower after the Tuesday reading, but have recovered most of the losses.
Tesla was well off its 52-week high of $299.29, which the company reached last summer.
Write to Rupert Steiner at [email protected]
Read the full article here