Nikola (NASDAQ:NKLA) Shares Down 1.4%

Nikola Co. (NASDAQ:NKLA) was down 1.4% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $0.64 and last traded at $0.66. Approximately 28,306,615 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 98,857,578 shares. The stock had previously closed at $0.67.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NKLA shares. Robert W. Baird started coverage on Nikola in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $2.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research started coverage on Nikola in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $1.00 price objective on shares of Nikola in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th.

Nikola Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $863.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.52 and a beta of 1.99. 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 has a 50 day moving average of $0.76 and a 200 day moving average of $0.88.

Nikola (NASDAQ:NKLA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported ($0.12) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.17) by $0.05. The company had revenue of $11.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.52 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.46) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Nikola Co. will post -0.44 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nikola news, insider Joseph R. Pike sold 75,162 shares of Nikola stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $292,257.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 10.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nikola

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Nikola by 36.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,145,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,487,000 after purchasing an additional 20,439,596 shares during the last quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nikola by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC now owns 419,671 shares of the company’s stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 29,016 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Nikola by 68.5% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 880,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $770,000 after purchasing an additional 357,819 shares during the last quarter. Wexford Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Nikola in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Nikola in the 4th quarter valued at about $142,000. 37.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.