Nikola (NASDAQ:NKLA) Shares Up 5.8%

Shares of Nikola Co. (NASDAQ:NKLA) shot up 5.8% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $0.68 and last traded at $0.68. 17,143,873 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 98,210,844 shares. The stock had previously closed at $0.64.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NKLA. Wolfe Research began coverage on Nikola in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Nikola in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $2.00 price target for the company. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $1.00 price target on shares of Nikola in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th.

Nikola Stock Up 2.1 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $0.76 and a 200 day moving average of $0.88. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $877.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.54 and a beta of 1.99.

Nikola (NASDAQ:NKLA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported ($0.12) EPS for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the company posted ($0.46) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Nikola Co. will post -0.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Joseph R. Pike sold 75,162 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $0.68, for a total value 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 $292,257.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 10.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Nikola

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Nikola during the fourth quarter worth approximately $93,633,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Nikola by 36.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,145,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,487,000 after purchasing an additional 20,439,596 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in shares of Nikola by 81.2% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 43,278,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,724,000 after purchasing an additional 19,389,959 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Nikola by 78.2% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,815,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,066,000 after purchasing an additional 6,061,239 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Nikola by 67.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,626,618 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,045,000 after purchasing an additional 4,690,316 shares during the period. 37.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.