Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Put Options on Nikola (NASDAQ:NKLA)

Nikola Co. (NASDAQ:NKLA) saw some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 209,974 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 353% compared to the typical daily volume of 46,332 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on NKLA shares. Robert W. Baird began coverage on Nikola in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $2.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research began coverage on Nikola in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $1.00 price objective on shares of Nikola in a report on Tuesday, March 5th.

Nikola Trading Down 3.9 %

NKLA stock opened at $0.58 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Nikola has a twelve month low of $0.52 and a twelve month high of $3.71. The company has a market cap of $785.36 million, a P/E ratio of -0.46 and a beta of 2.10. The business has a fifty day moving average of $0.73 and a 200-day moving average of $0.81.

Nikola (NASDAQ:NKLA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.17) by $0.05. The business had revenue of $11.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.52 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.46) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Nikola will post -0.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Joseph R. Pike sold 75,162 shares of Nikola stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $0.68, for a total transaction of $51,110.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 429,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $292,257.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.74% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Wealth Alliance LLC bought a new position in Nikola during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Silicon Valley Capital Partners bought a new stake in shares of Nikola in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Nikola during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in Nikola by 162.1% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 49,304 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 30,490 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Nikola during the first quarter worth about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 37.38% of the company’s stock.

Nikola Company Profile

Nikola Corporation operates as a technology innovator and integrator that develops energy and transportation solutions in the United States and internationally. The company operates in truck and energy units. It commercializes battery electric vehicles (BEV) and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) to the trucking sector.