Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Nikola Put Options (NASDAQ:NKLA)

Nikola Co. (NASDAQ:NKLA) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders purchased 209,974 put options on the company. This is an increase of 353% compared to the average volume of 46,332 put options.

Nikola Stock Performance

Shares of NKLA opened at $0.60 on Wednesday. Nikola has a 1 year low of $0.52 and a 1 year high of $3.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $817.64 million, a P/E ratio of -0.47 and a beta of 2.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.20. The company’s fifty day moving average is $0.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $0.81.

Nikola (NASDAQ:NKLA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.17) by $0.05. The business had revenue of $11.53 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.52 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.46) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Nikola will post -0.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Joseph R. Pike sold 75,162 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $0.68, for a total transaction of $51,110.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 429,790 shares in the company, valued at $292,257.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nikola

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Nikola in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $93,633,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Nikola by 27.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 56,706,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,029,000 after buying an additional 12,085,830 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Nikola by 65.4% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,695,472 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,123,000 after buying an additional 4,229,114 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Nikola by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,754,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,909,000 after buying an additional 1,512,542 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Nikola by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,646,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,832,000 after acquiring an additional 454,804 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 37.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NKLA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Nikola in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Nikola in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $2.00 price target on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $1.00 price target on shares of Nikola in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th.

About Nikola

Nikola Corporation operates as a technology innovator and integrator that develops energy and transportation solutions in the United States and internationally. The company operates in truck and energy units. It commercializes battery electric vehicles (BEV) and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) to the trucking sector.