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

QuantumScape Co. (NYSE:QS) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock investors bought 65,961 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 340% compared to the typical daily volume of 14,980 call options.

QuantumScape Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE QS traded up $1.67 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $7.08. 85,909,092 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,406,499. The firm has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.38 and a beta of 4.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 10.38 and a quick ratio of 10.38. QuantumScape has a twelve month low of $4.67 and a twelve month high of $13.86. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $5.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.14.

QuantumScape (NYSE:QS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported ($0.24) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.22) by ($0.02). Equities research analysts anticipate that QuantumScape will post -0.89 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group lowered their target price on QuantumScape from $9.00 to $5.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on QuantumScape from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other QuantumScape news, CFO Kevin Hettrich sold 45,848 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.61, for a total transaction of $257,207.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 1,145,821 shares in the company, valued at $6,428,055.81. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Jagdeep Singh sold 79,006 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.03, for a total value of $397,400.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,809,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,130,542.59. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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. Insiders have sold a total of 674,338 shares of company stock worth $3,650,206 over the last quarter. 10.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QuantumScape

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in QS. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in QuantumScape by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 235,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,638,000 after purchasing an additional 1,481 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management boosted its holdings in QuantumScape by 39.0% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 5,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in QuantumScape by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 12,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 1,640 shares in the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in QuantumScape by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in QuantumScape by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 21,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264 shares during the period. 29.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.