QuantumScape Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:QS)

QuantumScape Co. (NYSE:QS) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders purchased 61,536 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 46% compared to the typical volume of 42,032 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

QS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $7.00 price objective (up from $6.00) on shares of QuantumScape in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded QuantumScape to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, HSBC upgraded QuantumScape from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $5.30 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.26.

Insider Transactions at QuantumScape

In related news, Director Jagdeep Singh sold 308,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.30, for a total transaction of $1,632,914.10. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,563,767 shares in the company, valued at $13,587,965.10. This trade represents a 10.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Fritz Prinz sold 12,908 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.04, for a total value of $65,056.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 241,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,215,622.80. This represents a 5.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 567,878 shares of company stock valued at $3,062,871. Insiders own 12.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of QuantumScape

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in QuantumScape in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in QuantumScape by 79.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 2,148 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in QuantumScape by 475.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,118 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 4,228 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in QuantumScape by 208.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 4,556 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new position in QuantumScape in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 29.87% of the company’s stock.

QuantumScape Stock Performance

NYSE QS traded up $0.41 on Thursday, hitting $5.24. 23,291,277 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,676,768. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 14.07 and a quick ratio of 14.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $5.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.45. The firm has a market cap of $2.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.57 and a beta of 4.45. QuantumScape has a fifty-two week low of $4.65 and a fifty-two week high of $9.52.

QuantumScape (NYSE:QS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by ($0.01). On average, research analysts expect that QuantumScape will post -0.99 EPS for the current year.

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.