Tesla stocks rose on Monday after the electric vehicle manufacturer announced its second stock split in less than two years.

In a regulatory filing and a tweet, the firm stated that it intends to request an increase in the number of authorised shares at an upcoming annual shareholders meeting in order to split the stock in the form of a dividend.

It did not specify when the split would take place or the ratio of such a stock split, but it would follow similar moves by a trio of tech companies whose shares have skyrocketed in recent months.

In afternoon trade, Tesla’s stock price increased $81.02, or 8%, to $1,092.37. Over the last year, the stock has increased by more than 60%. In January, the business announced record 2021 earnings, including a $5.5 billion net profit. That was more than seven times the company’s previous peak for earnings, which was $721 million in 2020.

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And the company is expanding. Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, inaugurated the company’s first European facility last week, a “Gigafactory” in Germany that would employ 12,000 people and produce 500,000 vehicles per year.

“Given the stock’s meteoric run it’s not a surprise that Musk & Co. are heading down the path of another stock split especially with robust EV demand and the build-outs of the flagship Berlin and Austin Giga factories now on a glide path,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives who follows Tesla, said.

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Ives, who expects Tesla shares to hit $1,400 in the next 12 months, stated in a study that Tesla vehicle shipments are “trending well ahead” of Wall Street analysts’ estimates. An continuous shortage of semiconductors due to global supply interruptions is one challenge for the corporation, as well as other automakers, that could dampen its financial performance.

A stock split would affect the price of each shares but not the aggregate worth of those holdings. It can temporarily increase the price of a company’s stock, and the announcement did just that on Monday.

Tesla stated that its board of directors has approved the plan, but that the payout is subject to final board approval.

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In August 2020, Tesla had a 5-for-1 stock split, which took effect one day after the firm revealed plans to sell up to $5 billion in stock. Only three months later, Tesla announced plans for another public offering, with a goal of raising up to $5 billion.

Tesla is following in the footsteps of other IT behemoths, whose stock prices have skyrocketed, putting ordinary investors out of reach. Alphabet, Google’s parent company, announced a 20-for-1 split in February, and Amazon.com Inc. indicated this month that it will do the same.

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“We view Tesla’s move following the likes of Amazon, Google, Apple and initiating its second stock split in two years as a smart strategic move that will be a positive catalyst for shares going forward,” Ives wrote in a study report.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Tesla stated that more information, including the date and location of its annual shareholder meeting, would be included in a future proxy statement.