QuantumScape (NYSE:QS) Trading Down 1.3% After Insider Selling

Key Points

• QuantumScape's stock fell 1.3% to $15.72 following insider selling by key executives, including Director Jeffrey B. Straubel and CFO Kevin Hettrich, which raised concerns among investors.
• Several research firms have given QuantumScape a consensus rating of "Reduce" with a price target of $5.88, indicating a generally pessimistic outlook on the stock.
• Institutional investors have significantly increased their holdings in QuantumScape, with some firms like UBS boosting their stake by over 450%, reflecting renewed interest despite recent insider sales.

QuantumScape Corporation (NYSE:QS - Get Free Report) fell 1.3% on Monday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $15.64 and last traded at $15.72. 50,149,244 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 87% from the average session volume of 26,771,592 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.92.

Specifically, Director Jeffrey B. Straubel sold 157,171 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.94, for a total value of $2,190,963.74. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 321,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,475,297.60. This trade represents a 32.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Kevin Hettrich sold 9,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.94, for a total value of $136,612.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,591,467 shares in the company, valued at $22,185,049.98. This trade represents a 0.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other QuantumScape news, CTO Timothy Holme sold 44,923 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.52, for a total value of $697,204.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on QS. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of QuantumScape from $6.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of QuantumScape in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of QuantumScape to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $5.88.

QuantumScape Stock Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average price is $9.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.97. The company has a current ratio of 16.40, a quick ratio of 16.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market capitalization of $8.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.28 and a beta of 4.85.

QuantumScape (NYSE:QS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.20). The business had revenue of $36.67 million for the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.25) EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that QuantumScape Corporation will post -0.82 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in QS. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 3,904,168 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of QuantumScape by 9.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,351,974 shares of the company's stock valued at $147,064,000 after purchasing an additional 2,911,362 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of QuantumScape by 2,036.7% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,452,835 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,483,000 after purchasing an additional 2,338,038 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in QuantumScape by 1,005.2% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,982,578 shares of the company's stock worth $13,323,000 after purchasing an additional 1,803,196 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in QuantumScape by 148.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,803,989 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,843,000 after buying an additional 1,673,472 shares in the last quarter. 29.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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