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

QuantumScape Co. (NYSE:QS) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Investors purchased 40,139 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 51% compared to the typical volume of 26,500 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $6.00 target price on shares of QuantumScape in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of QuantumScape to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $7.00 target price (up from $6.00) on shares of QuantumScape in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of QuantumScape in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an “underperform” rating for the company. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of QuantumScape from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $5.30 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $6.26.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other QuantumScape news, CFO Kevin Hettrich sold 34,607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.49, for a total transaction of $189,992.43. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 1,073,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,890,890.78. This represents a 3.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jagdeep Singh sold 5,531 shares of QuantumScape stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total value of $27,710.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,590,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,978,820.83. This trade represents a 0.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 666,032 shares of company stock valued at $3,549,682 in the last three months. Insiders own 12.03% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QuantumScape

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in QuantumScape by 79.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 2,148 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its stake in QuantumScape by 56.0% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 2,556 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in QuantumScape by 32.4% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 13,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 3,310 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in QuantumScape by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 83,867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $413,000 after acquiring an additional 3,527 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of QuantumScape by 475.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,118 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 4,228 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 29.87% of the company’s stock.

QuantumScape Trading Up 6.1 %

NYSE QS opened at $5.02 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.28 and a beta of 4.50. QuantumScape has a one year low of $4.65 and a one year high of $10.03. The business’s fifty day moving average is $5.17 and its 200-day moving average is $5.64.

QuantumScape (NYSE:QS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by ($0.02). During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.23) EPS. Equities research analysts predict that QuantumScape will post -0.99 EPS for the current year.

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.