QuantumScape Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:QS)

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

QuantumScape Price Performance

Shares of 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 stock has a fifty 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. The company has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a PE ratio of -5.34 and a beta of 4.60.

QuantumScape (NYSE:QS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by ($0.02). During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.23) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that QuantumScape will post -0.97 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on QS shares. HSBC upgraded shares of QuantumScape from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $5.30 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of QuantumScape in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an “underperform” rating on the stock. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $7.00 price target (up from $6.00) on shares of QuantumScape in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $6.00 price target on shares of QuantumScape in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. 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 presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.26.

Insider Buying and Selling at QuantumScape

In other news, Director Jurgen Leohold sold 17,435 shares of the 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 sale, the director now owns 194,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,169,424. This represents a 8.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jagdeep Singh sold 192,270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.99, for a total transaction of $1,151,697.30. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,590,583 shares in the company, valued at $15,517,592.17. The trade was a 6.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 606,197 shares of company stock valued at $3,498,399 over the last 90 days. 12.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 valued at $191,750,000 after buying an additional 656,646 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in QuantumScape during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,950,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in QuantumScape by 880.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 352,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,733,000 after purchasing an additional 316,361 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in QuantumScape by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,853,958 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,671,000 after purchasing an additional 218,743 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new stake in QuantumScape during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,002,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 29.87% of the company’s stock.

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.