QuantumScape Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:QS)

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on QS. HSBC raised shares of QuantumScape from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $5.30 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of QuantumScape from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of QuantumScape to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $6.06.

QuantumScape Stock Performance

NYSE QS opened at $5.26 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.53 and a beta of 4.45. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.44. QuantumScape has a twelve month low of $4.65 and a twelve month high of $9.52. The company has a quick ratio of 14.07, a current ratio of 14.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

QuantumScape (NYSE:QS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by ($0.01). As a group, research analysts forecast that QuantumScape will post -0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at QuantumScape

In related news, Director Fritz Prinz sold 12,908 shares of QuantumScape stock in a transaction 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. The trade was a 5.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jagdeep Singh sold 308,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 2,563,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,587,965.10. This represents a 10.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 567,878 shares of company stock valued at $3,062,871. Insiders own 12.03% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QuantumScape

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of QS. Norges Bank acquired a new position in QuantumScape in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,762,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in QuantumScape by 55.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,814,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,183,000 after purchasing an additional 2,066,844 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in QuantumScape by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,440,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $168,367,000 after purchasing an additional 956,072 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in QuantumScape by 1,091.5% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 432,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,244,000 after purchasing an additional 396,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DnB Asset Management AS bought a new stake in QuantumScape in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,041,000. 29.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.