Evolv Technologies Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:EVLV)

Evolv Technologies Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVLV) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors bought 5,513 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 1,690% compared to the average daily volume of 308 call options.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael Ellenbogen sold 80,745 shares of Evolv Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.26, for a total transaction of $666,953.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,083,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,213,517.86. This trade represents a 3.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Gates Frontier, Llc sold 776,236 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.20, for a total value of $6,365,135.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 17,189,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $140,950,587.20. This represents a 4.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 1,911,445 shares of company stock valued at $15,560,635 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 11.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Evolv Technologies

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EVLV. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Evolv Technologies by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 31,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $238,000 after buying an additional 1,694 shares during the last quarter. CW Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Evolv Technologies by 19.0% during the second quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 12,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 2,014 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in Evolv Technologies by 29.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 10,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 2,266 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Evolv Technologies by 38.3% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 12,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 3,596 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Evolv Technologies by 6.1% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 63,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 3,633 shares during the period. 66.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Evolv Technologies Stock Down 1.9%

NASDAQ:EVLV opened at $7.04 on Wednesday. Evolv Technologies has a 52 week low of $2.35 and a 52 week high of $8.91. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $7.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.71. The company has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.80 and a beta of 1.70.

Evolv Technologies (NASDAQ:EVLV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The company reported ($0.25) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by ($0.16). Evolv Technologies had a negative return on equity of 76.80% and a negative net margin of 73.04%.The company had revenue of $26.68 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.95 million. Evolv Technologies has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Evolv Technologies will post -0.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on EVLV shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Evolv Technologies from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Lake Street Capital upgraded Evolv Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $5.50 to $9.00 in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on Evolv Technologies from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Evolv Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $10.00 price target on shares of Evolv Technologies in a report on Friday, August 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $8.88.

About Evolv Technologies

Evolv Technologies Holdings, Inc provides artificial intelligence (AI)-based weapons detection for security screening in the United States and internationally. Its products include Evolv Express, a touchless security screening system designed to detect firearms, improvised explosive devices, and tactical knives; and Evolv Insights that provides self-serve access, insights regarding visitor flow and arrival curves, location specific performance, system detection performance, and alarm statistics.