Investors Purchase High Volume of Evolv Technologies Call Options (NASDAQ:EVLV)

Key Points

• Evolv Technologies experienced a significant increase in options trading, with 5,513 call options purchased, marking a 1,690% rise compared to the average volume.
• Analysts' ratings for Evolv Technologies have varied, with consensus indicating a "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $8.88, while some analysts have rated it as a "Strong Sell."
• The company reported a loss of ($0.25) earnings per share, missing consensus estimates by ($0.16), along with revenue of $26.68 million, below analyst expectations.

Evolv Technologies Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVLV - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Investors acquired 5,513 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 1,690% compared to the average volume of 308 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Lake Street Capital raised Evolv Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $5.50 to $9.00 in a report on Friday, August 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on Evolv Technologies from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $10.00 target price on shares of Evolv Technologies in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Evolv Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Evolv Technologies presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $8.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Gates Frontier, Llc sold 776,236 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.20, for a total transaction of $6,365,135.20. Following the transaction, the insider owned 17,189,096 shares of the company's stock, valued at $140,950,587.20. This represents a 4.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 11.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Evolv Technologies

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EVLV. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of Evolv Technologies by 300.1% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 20,577 shares of the company's stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 15,434 shares during the period. Militia Capital Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of Evolv Technologies by 26.9% in the second quarter. Militia Capital Partners LP now owns 330,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,059,000 after buying an additional 70,000 shares during the period. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Evolv Technologies in the second quarter valued at $7,041,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Evolv Technologies by 38.3% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 12,985 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 3,596 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Evolv Technologies by 371.4% during the second quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 130,591 shares of the company's stock valued at $815,000 after purchasing an additional 102,891 shares during the last quarter. 66.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Evolv Technologies Trading Down 1.6%

NASDAQ EVLV traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $8.03. 14,993,987 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,348,303. Evolv Technologies has a 1-year low of $2.04 and a 1-year high of $8.91. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.48. The company has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.60 and a beta of 1.71.

Evolv Technologies (NASDAQ:EVLV - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The company reported ($0.25) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by ($0.16). Evolv Technologies had a negative return on equity of 76.80% and a negative net margin of 73.04%.The firm had revenue of $26.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.95 million. Evolv Technologies has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Evolv Technologies will post -0.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Evolv Technologies

Evolv Technologies Holdings, Inc provides artificial intelligence (AI)-based weapons detection for security screening in the United States and internationally. Its products include Evolv Express, a touchless security screening system designed to detect firearms, improvised explosive devices, and tactical knives; and Evolv Insights that provides self-serve access, insights regarding visitor flow and arrival curves, location specific performance, system detection performance, and alarm statistics.