Nikola Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:NKLA)

Nikola Co. (NASDAQ:NKLA) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 209,974 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 353% compared to the average daily volume of 46,332 put options.

Nikola Trading Down 3.9 %

Shares of Nikola stock opened at $0.58 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $0.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $0.81. Nikola has a 12-month low of $0.52 and a 12-month high of $3.71. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market cap of $785.36 million, a PE ratio of -0.46 and a beta of 2.10.

Nikola (NASDAQ:NKLA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.17) by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $11.53 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.52 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.46) earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Nikola will post -0.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Joseph R. Pike sold 75,162 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 429,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $292,257.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.74% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Nikola during the 4th quarter valued at about $93,633,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Nikola by 27.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 56,706,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,029,000 after purchasing an additional 12,085,830 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Nikola by 65.4% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,695,472 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,123,000 after buying an additional 4,229,114 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Nikola by 90.3% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,812,396 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,965,000 after buying an additional 1,809,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Nikola by 43.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,242,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,230,000 after acquiring an additional 1,577,112 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 37.38% of the company’s stock.

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.