QuantumScape (NYSE:QS) Shares Gap Up - What's Next?

QuantumScape Corporation (NYSE:QS - Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $4.33, but opened at $6.01. QuantumScape shares last traded at $6.01, with a volume of 55,805,759 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on QS. UBS Group cut QuantumScape from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $5.00 to $2.50 in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on QuantumScape from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on QuantumScape from $3.00 to $2.50 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, QuantumScape has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $5.19.

QuantumScape Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 16.66 and a quick ratio of 16.66. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.27 and a beta of 4.27.

QuantumScape (NYSE:QS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported ($0.21) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by ($0.02). During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.24) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that QuantumScape Corporation will post -0.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Mohit Singh sold 71,428 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.41, for a total transaction of $314,997.48. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,640,998 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,236,801.18. This trade represents a 4.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Fritz Prinz sold 61,523 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.94, for a total value of $242,400.62. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 231,530 shares in the company, valued at $912,228.20. This trade represents a 20.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 747,951 shares of company stock valued at $4,629,048 over the last three months. Company insiders own 12.03% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in QuantumScape by 456.5% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,759,334 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,799,000 after buying an additional 3,904,168 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in QuantumScape by 50.4% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,224 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 7,111 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in QuantumScape by 21.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 961,052 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,998,000 after buying an additional 170,173 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in QuantumScape during the first quarter valued at about $321,000. Finally, Perbak Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in QuantumScape during the first quarter valued at about $353,000. 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.