Nikola (NASDAQ:NKLA) Shares Up 11.1%

Nikola Co. (NASDAQ:NKLA)’s stock price was up 11.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $1.08 and last traded at $1.01. Approximately 92,633,390 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 1% from the average daily volume of 91,921,875 shares. The stock had previously closed at $0.91.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on NKLA shares. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on Nikola in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $2.00 target price on the stock. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $1.00 price objective on shares of Nikola in a report on Tuesday, March 5th.

Nikola Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $0.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $0.92. The company has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.80 and a beta of 1.95.

Nikola (NASDAQ:NKLA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.17) by $0.05. The company had revenue of $11.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.52 million. Nikola had a negative return on equity of 122.20% and a negative net margin of 1,475.52%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.46) EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Nikola Co. will post -0.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Nikola

In other news, insider Joseph R. Pike sold 75,162 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 429,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $292,257.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 10.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nikola

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NKLA. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Nikola by 4.7% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 79,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $847,000 after purchasing an additional 3,523 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Nikola by 577.7% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 15,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,000 after acquiring an additional 13,044 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Nikola by 57.0% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 125,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,347,000 after purchasing an additional 45,661 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Nikola by 6.3% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 245,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,630,000 after purchasing an additional 14,645 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp bought a new stake in Nikola in the first quarter worth $343,000. 37.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nikola Company Profile

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.