Nikola (NASDAQ:NKLA) Shares Gap Up to $0.91

Shares of Nikola Co. (NASDAQ:NKLA) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $0.91, but opened at $0.96. Nikola shares last traded at $0.94, with a volume of 27,639,651 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Nikola in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $2.00 price target for the company. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $1.00 target price on shares of Nikola in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th.

Nikola Stock Up 13.3 %

The company has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -0.80 and a beta of 1.95. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $0.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $0.92. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Nikola (NASDAQ:NKLA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.17) by $0.05. The company had revenue of $11.53 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.52 million. Nikola had a negative net margin of 1,475.52% and a negative return on equity of 122.20%. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.46) EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Nikola Co. will post -0.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Joseph R. Pike sold 75,162 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $0.68, for a total value of $51,110.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 429,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $292,257.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 10.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nikola

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Wealth Alliance LLC bought a new position in Nikola in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Nikola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new position in Nikola in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Banque Pictet & Cie SA bought a new stake in shares of Nikola during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Nikola during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 37.38% of the company’s stock.

About Nikola

Nikola Corporation operates as a technology innovator and integrator that develops energy and transportation solutions in the United States and internationally. The company operates in truck and energy units. It commercializes battery electric vehicles (BEV) and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) to the trucking sector.