Traders Expecting Major Volatility From Tesla Following Earnings

With luxury electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc TSLA set to release earnings after the closing bell today, now is a good time to look back at how Tesla’s stock has reacted to earnings since the company went public back in 2010.

Here’s a breakdown of the market’s immediate reaction to Tesla’s earnings throughout its entire history as a public company.

Overwhelming success
While the long-term outlook for Tesla remains a topic of heated debate, there’s no question that the stock has been an incredible investment for early buyers. The stock is up 867 percent since it went public.

The last six months has been a different story for shareholders, however, as Tesla’s stock has generated essentially zero return while the overall market has been on the rise.

What to expect tomorrow
Tesla traders are gearing up for some majorly volatile post-earnings trading. Today’s report will be the 20th earnings release for Tesla. On the day following its previous 19 reports, the stock has averaged about a 9.1 percent move.

While the magnitude of Tesla’s moves has been large, the direction of the moves has been hard to predict. Overall, the stock is averaging a +3.2 percent gain on the day following earnings.

More earnings facts
Three of the last four earnings reports have been good news for Tesla shareholders, although the big 11.3 percent drop following earnings in May 2014 brings the average overall return in the days following those four reports down to only +1.5 percent.

Tesla’s largest up move following earnings has been a 24.4 percent gain in May of 2013, and the largest down move has been a 14.5 percent drop in November 2013.