Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. Lowers Holdings in Nikola Co. (NASDAQ:NKLA)

Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. decreased its stake in Nikola Co. (NASDAQ:NKLA – Get Rating) by 4.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 128,633 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,708 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Nikola were worth $453,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Nikola by 1.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,103,856 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,602,000 after purchasing an additional 342,248 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Nikola by 17.7% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,539,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,366,000 after purchasing an additional 831,160 shares in the last quarter. Teramo Advisors LLC boosted its position in Nikola by 0.8% during the third quarter. Teramo Advisors LLC now owns 3,296,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,603,000 after purchasing an additional 25,000 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Nikola by 17.4% during the second quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,507,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,933,000 after purchasing an additional 371,943 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Nikola by 33.4% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,671,191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,882,000 after acquiring an additional 418,787 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 20.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on NKLA. Cowen reduced their target price on Nikola from $12.50 to $10.00 in a report on Friday, November 4th. BTIG Research reduced their target price on Nikola from $7.00 to $5.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 17th. Cowen reduced their target price on Nikola from $12.50 to $10.00 in a report on Friday, November 4th. Finally, Wedbush reduced their target price on Nikola from $10.00 to $6.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.38.

Insider Activity at Nikola

In related news, CEO Mark A. Russell sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.14, for a total value of $235,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,812,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,830,766.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Mark A. Russell sold 927,429 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.14, for a total value of $1,984,698.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,959,917 shares in the company, valued at $4,194,222.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark A. Russell sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.14, for a total value of $235,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,812,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,830,766.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,581,605 shares of company stock valued at $6,397,055. 18.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Nikola Price Performance

NASDAQ:NKLA opened at $2.52 on Monday. Nikola Co. has a one year low of $2.01 and a one year high of $11.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.75. The stock has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of -1.47 and a beta of 1.44. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $2.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.99.

Nikola (NASDAQ:NKLA – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 3rd. The company reported ($0.54) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.56) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $24.24 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.81 million. Equities research analysts expect that Nikola Co. will post -1.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nikola Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Nikola Corp. engages in the provision of zero-emissions transportation and infrastructure solutions. It designs and manufactures battery-electric and hydrogen-electric vehicles, electric vehicle drivetrains, vehicle components, energy storage systems and hydrogen fueling station infrastructure. The company was founded by Trevor Milton in 2015 and is headquartered in Phoenix, AZ.