Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of QuantumScape Call Options (NYSE:QS)

QuantumScape Corporation (NYSE:QS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 36,275 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 53% compared to the average volume of 23,705 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Mohit Singh sold 71,428 shares of QuantumScape 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 owns 1,640,998 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,236,801.18. The trade was a 4.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Fritz Prinz sold 61,523 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.94, for a total transaction of $242,400.62. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 231,530 shares of the company's stock, 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. 12.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QuantumScape

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of QuantumScape during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,275,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in QuantumScape during the fourth quarter worth $1,527,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of QuantumScape by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,331,966 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,103,000 after purchasing an additional 104,894 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of QuantumScape by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,440,612 shares of the company's stock valued at $168,367,000 after acquiring an additional 956,072 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in QuantumScape by 1,091.5% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 432,455 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,244,000 after purchasing an additional 396,160 shares during the period. 29.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

QuantumScape Price Performance

Shares of QS stock traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $4.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,876,707 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,430,456. QuantumScape has a fifty-two week low of $3.40 and a fifty-two week high of $9.52. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $4.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.62. The company has a quick ratio of 16.66, a current ratio of 16.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.85 and a beta of 4.27.

QuantumScape (NYSE:QS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported ($0.21) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by ($0.02). During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.24) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that QuantumScape will post -0.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI restated a "hold" rating on shares of QuantumScape in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of QuantumScape from $3.00 to $2.50 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group lowered QuantumScape from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $5.00 to $2.50 in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on QuantumScape from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $5.19.

QuantumScape Company Profile

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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