Nikola Co. (NASDAQ:NKLA) Short Interest Up 54.3% in December

Nikola Co. (NASDAQ:NKLA) was the target of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 20,840,000 shares, an increase of 54.3% from the November 30th total of 13,510,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 7,000,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.0 days. Approximately 25.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nikola

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of NKLA. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Nikola by 121.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 9,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 5,190 shares during the period. One Wealth Management Investment & Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Nikola during the 3rd quarter valued at about $110,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nikola in the second quarter valued at about $138,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of Nikola by 84.3% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 45,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 20,723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Nikola during the second quarter worth about $215,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 37.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NKLA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bryan, Garnier & Co downgraded shares of Nikola from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Nikola from $10.00 to $4.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Nikola from $12.00 to $4.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Nikola from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.00.

Nikola Stock Down 3.5 %

Shares of NKLA stock traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $1.11. The stock had a trading volume of 7,074,937 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,239,885. Nikola has a 12-month low of $1.08 and a 12-month high of $34.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $2.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.56 million, a P/E ratio of -0.08 and a beta of 1.92.

Nikola (NASDAQ:NKLA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported ($2.75) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.24) by ($0.51). Nikola had a negative net margin of 840.44% and a negative return on equity of 95.73%. The company had revenue of $25.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.23 million. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1382.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

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.