QuantumScape Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:QS)

QuantumScape Corporation (NYSE:QS) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 36,275 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 53% compared to the typical volume of 23,705 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at QuantumScape

In other QuantumScape news, Director Fritz Prinz sold 61,523 shares of QuantumScape stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.94, for a total transaction of $242,400.62. Following the transaction, the director now owns 231,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $912,228.20. This trade represents a 20.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Mohit Singh sold 71,428 shares of QuantumScape stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.41, for a total transaction of $314,997.48. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,640,998 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,236,801.18. This represents a 4.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 12.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QuantumScape

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in QuantumScape during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new position in shares of QuantumScape during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of QuantumScape by 2,086.1% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 5,841 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in shares of QuantumScape by 660.0% during the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 6,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 5,438 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management grew its position in shares of QuantumScape by 333.3% during the 1st quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 6,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 29.87% of the company’s stock.

QuantumScape Trading Up 3.9%

NYSE:QS opened at $4.39 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 16.66, a quick ratio of 16.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a PE ratio of -4.83 and a beta of 4.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $4.06 and its 200 day moving average is $4.62. QuantumScape has a 12 month low of $3.40 and a 12 month high of $9.52.

QuantumScape (NYSE:QS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported ($0.21) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.19) by ($0.02). During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.24) EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that QuantumScape will post -0.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

QS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of QuantumScape from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of QuantumScape from $3.00 to $2.50 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group cut shares of QuantumScape from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $5.00 to $2.50 in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of QuantumScape in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, QuantumScape has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $5.19.

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.