Shares of Elon Musk’s Tesla (NasdaqGM: TSLA), the electric car maker that has seen its stock quadruple this year, surged nearly 13% during Wednesday’s after-hours session after the company reported a second-quarter profit on an adjusted basis.
California-based Tesla posted a second-quarter loss of $30.5 million, or 26 cents a share, compared with a year-ago loss of $105.6 million, or $1.00 a share, a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, Tesla earned 20 cents a share as revenue soared to $405.1 million from $26.7 million. Analysts expected a loss of 19 cents a share on sales of $386.9 million.
More upside for Tesla should translate to good news for the $83.3 million Market Vectors Global Alternative Energy ETF (NYSEArca: GEX). GEX does not need the help as it already ranks among the top-10 non-leveraged ETFs on a year-to-date basis, but being known as one of the “Tesla ETFs” does not hurt. [Tesla’s Surge Jolts Small ETFs]
As Tesla’s market cap has grown, so has the stock’s presence in GEX. In late May, Tesla was about 10% of GEX’s weight. As of the close of U.S. markets Tuesday, GEX featured a 12.9% allocation to Tesla, more than 250 basis points higher than the ETF’s second-largest holding, Cree (NasdaqGM: CREE).
Tesla has not only been pivotal for GEX in terms of returns, though it should be pointed out that the ETF has gained about 6% since its July 1 1-for-3 reverse. The stock has also helped drive new capital into the fund. Although GEX still has less than $100 million in assets, the fund’s AUM total is now $83.3 million, up from about $69 million in mid-May. [Another Market-Beating Niche ETF]