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

QuantumScape Co. (NYSE:QS) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors bought 38,159 call options on the company. This is an increase of 56% compared to the typical volume of 24,445 call options.

QuantumScape Price Performance

NYSE:QS opened at $5.07 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 14.07 and a quick ratio of 14.07. The firm has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.34 and a beta of 4.60. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $5.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.75. QuantumScape has a 1-year low of $4.65 and a 1-year high of $10.03.

QuantumScape (NYSE:QS) 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.23) EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that QuantumScape will post -0.97 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at QuantumScape

In other QuantumScape news, Director Jurgen Leohold sold 17,435 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.00, for a total transaction of $104,610.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 194,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,169,424. This trade represents a 8.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael O. Mccarthy III sold 106,084 shares of QuantumScape stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.90, for a total transaction of $625,895.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,181,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,973,115.60. The trade was a 8.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 606,197 shares of company stock valued at $3,498,399. Insiders own 12.03% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QuantumScape

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in QuantumScape by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,484,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $191,750,000 after acquiring an additional 656,646 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of QuantumScape during the first quarter worth $82,000. Manhattan West Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of QuantumScape by 142.7% during the first quarter. Manhattan West Asset Management LLC now owns 68,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $428,000 after buying an additional 40,005 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of QuantumScape during the first quarter worth $64,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of QuantumScape by 1.4% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,825,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,482,000 after buying an additional 25,347 shares in the last quarter. 29.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $6.00 target price on shares of QuantumScape in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. HSBC upgraded shares of QuantumScape from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $5.30 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of QuantumScape in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They set an “underperform” rating for the company. Finally, Truist Financial restated 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $6.26.

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.