Nikola Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:NKLA)

Nikola Co. (NASDAQ:NKLA) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 28,042 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 30% compared to the average daily volume of 21,644 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Nikola from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nikola news, CEO Stephen J. Girsky sold 4,636 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.75, for a total transaction of $35,929.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 238,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,846,910.25. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.74% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nikola

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NKLA. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nikola in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Nikola during the first quarter worth approximately $43,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nikola in the second quarter worth $56,000. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Nikola by 29.1% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 132,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,000 after acquiring an additional 29,904 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Nikola during the 2nd quarter worth $138,000. 37.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nikola Price Performance

NKLA stock opened at $3.93 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $198.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.15 and a beta of 2.06. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.19. Nikola has a 52-week low of $3.72 and a 52-week high of $38.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Nikola (NASDAQ:NKLA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 9th. The company reported ($2.67) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.78) by $0.11. The company had revenue of $31.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.19 million. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 101.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted ($7.21) EPS.

Nikola Company Profile

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.