Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) and SolarCity Corp (NASDAQ:SCTY) both are the brainchild of visionary entrepreneur Elon Musk. One produces electric cars while another operates in the solar panel industry. Despite operating in different industries, both companies are proponents of clean energy. What’s more, shares of the two companies have also shown similarity. As Ben Levisohn of Barrons puts it, Tesla and SolarCity are dancing to the Elon Musk beat.
Tesla and SolarCity both registered whopping gains last year
Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares have registered 550% growth over the past 12 months. SolarCity Corp (NASDAQ:SCTY) stock has also registered a whopping 310% growth in the same period. The solar panel maker reported better than expected fourth quarter results on Tuesday, March 18. The company reported a loss of 46 cents on $47.3 million in revenues. Analysts expected 56 cents in losses on revenue of $45 million. But shares of the company slipped 4.7% due to downbeat guidance for the current quarter. The company forecasts a net loss of 70-80 cents, compared to analysts’ estimate of 49 cents. Notably, Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares also went down 1.5% on the same day without any meaningful news.
The correlation between Tesla and SolarCity
Levisohn ran a 24-day correlation between the two stocks. A 100% correlation means both stocks are moving together hand-in-hand, whereas a correlation of -100% suggests that they are moving completely in the opposite direction. Today, the correlation between Tesla and SolarCity Corp (NASDAQ:SCTY) is 61.1%, much higher than the one-year average of 37.7%.
Over the last 12 months, the correlation between Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) and SolarCity Corp (NASDAQ:SCTY) has seen the high of 77.9% and the low of -39.8%. The chart below shows that the two stocks have marched together most of the time, and moved in opposite directions on rare occasions. Correlation doesn’t tell us much about the magnitude of movements. But one thing is clear, both stocks, and their investors, are benefiting from the Elon Musk factor.
Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares rose 0.70% to $237.49 at 10:48 AM EDT.
