QuantumScape (NYSE:QS) Shares Down 5.1% – Time to Sell?

QuantumScape Co. (NYSE:QS)’s share price traded down 5.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $4.78 and last traded at $4.82. 18,160,939 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 95% from the average session volume of 9,328,144 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.08.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on QS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $6.00 price objective on shares of QuantumScape in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. HSBC upgraded QuantumScape from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $5.30 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $7.00 price objective (up from $6.00) on shares of QuantumScape in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Hsbc Global Res raised QuantumScape to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on QuantumScape in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an “underperform” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.26.

QuantumScape Trading Down 6.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 14.07 and a current ratio of 14.07. The business has a 50 day moving average of $5.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.98 and a beta of 4.50.

QuantumScape (NYSE:QS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by ($0.02). During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.23) earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that QuantumScape Co. will post -0.99 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at QuantumScape

In related news, CFO Kevin Hettrich sold 34,607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.49, for a total transaction of $189,992.43. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 1,073,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,890,890.78. The trade was a 3.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jagdeep Singh sold 308,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.30, for a total transaction of $1,632,914.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,563,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,587,965.10. The trade was a 10.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 666,032 shares of company stock valued at $3,549,682 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 12.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QuantumScape

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of QuantumScape in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,950,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of QuantumScape by 880.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 352,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,733,000 after buying an additional 316,361 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of QuantumScape by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,853,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,671,000 after buying an additional 218,743 shares during the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new stake in QuantumScape in the 3rd quarter valued at about $828,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in QuantumScape by 6,650.0% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 135,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $776,000 after purchasing an additional 133,000 shares during 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.