Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on QuantumScape (NYSE:QS)

QuantumScape Co. (NYSE:QS) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors purchased 104,382 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 210% compared to the typical daily volume of 33,628 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

QS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of QuantumScape to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $7.00 target price (up from $6.00) on shares of QuantumScape in a report on Friday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $6.00 price target on shares of QuantumScape in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, HSBC upgraded QuantumScape from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $5.30 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.26.

QuantumScape Trading Down 4.4 %

Shares of QuantumScape stock opened at $6.29 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.68. The firm has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a PE ratio of -6.62 and a beta of 4.46. QuantumScape has a 1 year low of $4.65 and a 1 year high of $9.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 14.07 and a quick ratio of 14.07.

QuantumScape (NYSE:QS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by ($0.02). During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.23) earnings per share. Analysts expect that QuantumScape will post -0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other QuantumScape news, insider Michael O. Mccarthy III sold 27,305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.07, for a total transaction of $138,436.35. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,129,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,724,876.69. The trade was a 2.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jagdeep Singh sold 5,531 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total transaction of $27,710.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,590,583 shares in the company, valued at $12,978,820.83. This trade represents a 0.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 536,460 shares of company stock valued at $2,903,619 over the last ninety days. 12.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of QS. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in QuantumScape by 6,650.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 135,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $776,000 after acquiring an additional 133,000 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of QuantumScape by 3.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,853,958 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,671,000 after purchasing an additional 218,743 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of QuantumScape in the second quarter worth about $1,950,000. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in QuantumScape during the 3rd quarter valued at about $828,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in QuantumScape during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $680,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 29.87% of the company’s stock.

About QuantumScape

QuantumScape Corporation, a research and development stage company, focuses on the development and commercialization of solid-state lithium-metal batteries for electric vehicles and other applications. The company was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.