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

QuantumScape Co. (NYSE:QS) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Investors purchased 40,139 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 51% compared to the average daily volume of 26,500 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

QuantumScape Trading Up 10.6 %

QS traded up $0.50 during trading on Friday, reaching $5.23. 14,667,844 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,387,832. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $5.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 14.07 and a current ratio of 14.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.68 billion, a PE ratio of -5.51 and a beta of 4.50. QuantumScape has a fifty-two week low of $4.65 and a fifty-two week high of $10.03.

QuantumScape (NYSE:QS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by ($0.02). During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.23) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that QuantumScape will post -0.99 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other QuantumScape news, insider Michael O. Mccarthy III sold 27,305 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.07, for a total transaction of $138,436.35. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,129,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,724,876.69. This represents a 2.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Kevin Hettrich sold 34,607 shares of QuantumScape stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 1,073,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,890,890.78. This trade represents a 3.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 666,032 shares of company stock worth $3,549,682. 12.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of QuantumScape

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in QuantumScape by 79.9% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 2,148 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of QuantumScape by 475.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,118 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 4,228 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of QuantumScape by 56.0% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 2,556 shares in the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of QuantumScape in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, Financial Advocates Investment Management acquired a new position in shares of QuantumScape in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $58,000. 29.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.