Investors Purchase High Volume of QuantumScape Call Options (NYSE:QS)

QuantumScape Co. (NYSE:QS) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors bought 65,961 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 340% compared to the average daily volume of 14,980 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Truist Financial cut their price target on QuantumScape from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. UBS Group cut their price objective on QuantumScape from $9.00 to $5.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at QuantumScape

In other news, CFO Kevin Hettrich sold 45,848 shares of QuantumScape stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.61, for a total value of $257,207.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 1,145,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,428,055.81. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Fritz Prinz sold 25,816 shares of QuantumScape stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.87, for a total value of $125,723.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 267,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,300,343.57. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Kevin Hettrich sold 45,848 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.61, for a total value of $257,207.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 1,145,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,428,055.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 674,338 shares of company stock valued at $3,650,206. 10.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in QS. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in shares of QuantumScape by 97.7% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 105,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $703,000 after acquiring an additional 51,934 shares in the last quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC raised its holdings in shares of QuantumScape by 34.5% during the 4th quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC now owns 11,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 2,861 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in QuantumScape by 26.4% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 43,752 shares of the company’s stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 9,135 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its holdings in QuantumScape by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 21,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,000 after buying an additional 2,264 shares during the period. Finally, Simplicity Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in QuantumScape during the 4th quarter valued at $719,000. 29.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

QuantumScape Price Performance

NYSE QS traded up $1.67 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $7.08. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 85,909,092 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,406,499. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $5.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.14. The company has a quick ratio of 10.38, a current ratio of 10.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. QuantumScape has a 1 year low of $4.67 and a 1 year high of $13.86. The company has a market capitalization of $3.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.38 and a beta of 4.62.

QuantumScape (NYSE:QS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported ($0.24) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.22) by ($0.02). On average, equities research analysts predict that QuantumScape will post -0.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.