QuantumScape (NYSE:QS) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

QuantumScape Corporation (NYSE:QS)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $10.84, but opened at $11.49. QuantumScape shares last traded at $11.6840, with a volume of 5,815,399 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on QS. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of QuantumScape in a report on Thursday, October 30th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of QuantumScape from $5.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $10.00 price target on shares of QuantumScape and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of QuantumScape to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and set a $12.00 price objective (up from $8.00) on shares of QuantumScape in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, QuantumScape has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $9.17.

QuantumScape Trading Up 2.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 21.14 and a quick ratio of 21.14. The business’s 50-day moving average is $14.01 and its 200 day moving average is $10.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.59 and a beta of 2.76.

QuantumScape (NYSE:QS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported ($0.18) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.18). During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.23) EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that QuantumScape Corporation will post -0.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Kevin Hettrich sold 9,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.07, for a total transaction of $108,486.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,492,438 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,521,288.66. This represents a 0.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dipender Saluja sold 2,613,121 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.01, for a total value of $28,770,462.21. Following the sale, the director directly owned 9,892,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $108,921,203.34. This trade represents a 20.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 6,423,936 shares of company stock worth $84,422,388. 5.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its position in QuantumScape by 46.8% during the 3rd quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 2,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in QuantumScape by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 120,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,488,000 after acquiring an additional 810 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital raised its stake in shares of QuantumScape by 5.7% during the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 15,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,000 after acquiring an additional 815 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of QuantumScape by 8.2% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,408 shares of the company’s stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 939 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in shares of QuantumScape by 67.0% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 29.87% of the company’s stock.

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.