QuantumScape Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:QS)

QuantumScape Co. (NYSE:QS) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders bought 61,536 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 46% compared to the average daily volume of 42,032 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on QS. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $7.00 price objective (up from $6.00) on shares of QuantumScape in a research note on Friday, October 25th. HSBC upgraded QuantumScape from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $5.30 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised QuantumScape to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $6.26.

QuantumScape Trading Up 6.9 %

QS opened at $5.17 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a PE ratio of -5.44 and a beta of 4.45. The business has a 50 day moving average of $5.26 and a 200-day moving average of $5.45. QuantumScape has a 52 week low of $4.65 and a 52 week 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by ($0.01). Equities research analysts predict that QuantumScape will post -0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Mohit Singh sold 97,305 shares of QuantumScape stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.24, for a total transaction of $607,183.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,092,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,814,204.80. The trade was a 8.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Kevin Hettrich sold 36,949 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.06, for a total value of $186,961.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 1,024,325 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,183,084.50. This represents a 3.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 567,878 shares of company stock worth $3,062,871 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 12.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of QuantumScape

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in QuantumScape in the 4th quarter worth about $17,762,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of QuantumScape by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,440,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $168,367,000 after acquiring an additional 956,072 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of QuantumScape by 1,091.5% during 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 during the last quarter. DnB Asset Management AS purchased a new position in shares of QuantumScape during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,041,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in QuantumScape during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,527,000. 29.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.