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

QuantumScape Co. (NYSE:QS) saw some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors purchased 104,382 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 210% compared to the average volume of 33,628 call options.

Insider Activity at QuantumScape

In other news, insider Mohit Singh sold 97,305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.24, for a total transaction of $607,183.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,092,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,814,204.80. This trade represents a 8.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Kevin Hettrich sold 34,607 shares of QuantumScape stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.49, for a total transaction of $189,992.43. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 1,073,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,890,890.78. This trade represents a 3.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 571,067 shares of company stock worth $3,093,612 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 12.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QuantumScape

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in QuantumScape by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 930,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,579,000 after acquiring an additional 11,897 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in QuantumScape by 2.6% in the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 367,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,810,000 after buying an additional 9,290 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in QuantumScape during the second quarter worth approximately $61,000. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of QuantumScape by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 98,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $486,000 after buying an additional 4,330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ground Swell Capital LLC acquired a new stake in QuantumScape in the 2nd quarter valued at $95,000. 29.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

QuantumScape Trading Up 11.8 %

QS traded up $0.71 during trading on Monday, hitting $6.71. 16,077,159 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,948,365. The firm has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.06 and a beta of 4.50. 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 quick ratio of 14.07 and a current ratio of 14.07. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.66.

QuantumScape (NYSE:QS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by ($0.02). During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.23) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that QuantumScape will post -0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $7.00 price target (up previously from $6.00) on shares of QuantumScape in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $6.00 price target on shares of QuantumScape in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded QuantumScape to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of QuantumScape from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $5.30 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, QuantumScape presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.26.

QuantumScape Company Profile

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.