Nikola Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:NKLA)

Nikola Co. (NASDAQ:NKLA) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors purchased 181,983 call options on the company. This is an increase of 451% compared to the typical daily volume of 33,007 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nikola

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NKLA. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nikola in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Nikola by 121.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 9,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 5,190 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Nikola during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $56,000. One Wealth Management Investment & Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nikola in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $110,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nikola in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $138,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 37.38% of the company’s stock.

Nikola Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of Nikola stock opened at $1.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.17. Nikola has a 52 week low of $1.32 and a 52 week high of $34.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $3.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $6.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.57 million, a PE ratio of -0.11 and a beta of 1.92.

Nikola (NASDAQ:NKLA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported ($2.75) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.24) by ($0.51). The business had revenue of $25.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.23 million. Nikola had a negative net margin of 840.44% and a negative return on equity of 95.73%. The business’s revenue was up 1382.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Bryan, Garnier & Co cut Nikola from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Nikola from $12.00 to $4.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Nikola from $10.00 to $4.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Nikola from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.00.

Nikola Company Profile

Nikola Corporation operates as a technology innovator and integrator that develops energy and transportation solutions in the United States and internationally. The company operates in truck and energy units. It commercializes battery electric vehicles (BEV) and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) to the trucking sector.