QuantumScape Corporation (NYSE:QS) Given Average Rating of "Reduce" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts are cautious on QuantumScape: Six brokerages give the stock an average “Reduce” rating, with five holds and one sell. The average 12-month price target is $9.47, while TD Cowen recently cut its target from $8 to $6 and maintained a hold rating.
• The stock has declined significantly: QS opened at $5.28, near its 52-week low of $4.77 and well below its 52-week high of $19.07. The company has a $3.27 billion market capitalization and analysts expect a full-year loss of $0.82 per share.
• QuantumScape exceeded the latest earnings estimate but insiders sold shares: The company reported a quarterly loss of $0.16 per share, better than the expected $0.18 loss. Insiders sold 211,444 shares worth roughly $1.47 million during the last quarter, while institutional investors own 29.87% of the stock.

Shares of QuantumScape Corporation (NYSE:QS - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Reduce" from the six brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $9.4667.

Separately, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of QuantumScape from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 24th.

QuantumScape Stock Performance

QS opened at $5.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 21.14 and a current ratio of 21.14. The company has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a PE ratio of -6.52 and a beta of 2.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $5.81 and a 200-day moving average of $6.77. QuantumScape has a 52-week low of $4.77 and a 52-week high of $19.07.

QuantumScape (NYSE:QS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.02. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.20) earnings per share. The company's revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that QuantumScape will post -0.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other QuantumScape news, CFO Kevin Hettrich sold 9,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.28, for a total transaction of $71,344.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,816,257 shares in the company, valued at $13,222,350.96. This represents a 0.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CTO Timothy Holme sold 102,991 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.28, for a total value of $749,774.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 1,712,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,467,043.68. This represents a 5.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 211,444 shares of company stock worth $1,465,971 over the last quarter. 3.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of QuantumScape

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in QS. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its position in QuantumScape by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,408 shares of the company's stock worth $153,000 after buying an additional 939 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of QuantumScape by 8.5% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 18,575 shares of the company's stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 1,450 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of QuantumScape by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 29,968 shares of the company's stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 1,559 shares during the last quarter. &PARTNERS grew its stake in shares of QuantumScape by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 22,949 shares of the company's stock worth $239,000 after acquiring an additional 1,596 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in QuantumScape by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,169 shares of the company's stock worth $148,000 after acquiring an additional 1,674 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 29.87% of the company's stock.

About QuantumScape

QuantumScape Corporation NYSE: QS is a battery technology company developing solid-state lithium-metal batteries for electric vehicles and other energy-storage applications. Its technology is designed to replace the liquid electrolyte used in conventional lithium-ion batteries with a solid ceramic separator, with the goal of improving energy density, charging performance, safety and operating range.

The company is focused on designing, testing and scaling prototype cells rather than selling mass-produced batteries.

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