Tesla just closed at its lowest level in 2 years, breaking below a key price (TSLSA)

Tesla

Tesla shares fell 4.3% on Thursday after the electric-car maker reported a wider-than-expected first-quarter loss.
The stock posted its lowest close since March 2017, below the key $250 level that is viewed as technical support.
Watch Tesla trade live.

Tesla shares posted a grisly session on Thursday after the electric-car maker reported a larger-than-expected first-quarter loss.

The stock fell 4.3% to $247.63 a share, its lowest closing price since March of 2017, and finished below the $250 level that is widely viewed among technical analysts as a significant area of support over the last two years.

"We're a little surprised that this is not getting more attention today... because this is a well-known support level around the street," Matt Maley, an equity strategist at the firm Miller Tabak, wrote in a note to clients out Thursday morning. He said that a close below $250 would signal that shares could fall significantly further from here.

"It almost seems like a situation where people see it as the boy who cried wolf," Maley wrote. "Thus nobody wants to say anything about the technical aspects of the stock... unless or until it finally does fall below that key support level in a compelling manner."

He added: "In other words, maybe Mr. Musk can pull a rabbit out of a hat once again... but there's no question that the stock is sitting at a very important technical level."

To be sure, Wall Street on the whole still thinks shares are headed higher. The average Wall Street analyst's price target of $296, per data compiled by Bloomberg, implies a 19% rally from Thursday's session lows.

Tesla was down 25% this year, including Thursday's drop.

Read more Tesla coverage from Markets Insider and Business Insider:

Tesla's dismal results are highlighting the divide between die-hard bulls and doomsday bears

Tesla just reported an abysmal quarter with Model S and Model X sales falling off a cliff

Elon Musk says Tesla will begin offering its own insurance to customers next month

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Take a look inside a $3 million doomsday condo that can sustain 75 people for 5 years