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

QuantumScape Co. (NYSE:QS - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors acquired 40,139 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 51% compared to the average daily volume of 26,500 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on QS. Truist Financial reissued a "hold" rating and set a $7.00 target price (up from $6.00) on shares of QuantumScape in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wolfe Research began coverage on QuantumScape in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They set an "underperform" rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $6.00 target price on shares of QuantumScape in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of QuantumScape to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of QuantumScape from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $5.30 price objective for the company in a 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, QuantumScape has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $6.26.

QuantumScape Price Performance

NYSE:QS traded up $0.29 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $5.02. The company had a trading volume of 23,231,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,426,638. The company has a quick ratio of 14.07, a current ratio of 14.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $5.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.65. QuantumScape has a one year low of $4.65 and a one year high of $10.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a PE ratio of -5.28 and a beta of 4.50.

QuantumScape (NYSE:QS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by ($0.02). During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.23) EPS. Analysts forecast that QuantumScape will post -0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at QuantumScape

In related news, CFO Kevin Hettrich sold 55,647 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.05, for a total transaction of $281,017.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 1,022,743 shares in the company, valued at $5,164,852.15. This represents a 5.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jagdeep Singh sold 5,531 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total transaction of $27,710.31. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,590,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,978,820.83. The trade was a 0.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 666,032 shares of company stock worth $3,549,682. 12.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of QuantumScape

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of QS. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of QuantumScape in the second quarter valued at about $1,950,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in QuantumScape by 880.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 352,286 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,733,000 after acquiring an additional 316,361 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of QuantumScape by 3.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,853,958 shares of the company's stock worth $33,671,000 after acquiring an additional 218,743 shares during the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of QuantumScape during the third quarter worth approximately $828,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of QuantumScape by 6,650.0% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 135,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $776,000 after purchasing an additional 133,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 29.87% of the company's stock.

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.