QuantumScape (NYSE:QS) Trading Down 7.7% Following Insider Selling

QuantumScape Corporation (NYSE:QS) fell 7.7% during trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $14.55 and last traded at $14.6830. 35,838,834 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 22% from the average session volume of 29,405,557 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.91.

Specifically, insider Michael O. Mccarthy III sold 20,435 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.12, for a total transaction of $329,412.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 137,888 shares in the company, valued at $2,222,754.56. This represents a 12.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jeffrey B. Straubel sold 157,171 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.93, for a total value of $2,660,905.03. Following the sale, the director directly owned 293,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,976,302.62. This represents a 34.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of QuantumScape from $5.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of QuantumScape in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $10.00 price target on QuantumScape and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of QuantumScape from $6.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of QuantumScape in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $7.66.

QuantumScape Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $13.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.26. The company has a market capitalization of $8.83 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.13 and a beta of 4.83. The company has a current ratio of 21.14, a quick ratio of 21.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

QuantumScape (NYSE:QS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported ($0.18) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.18). The firm had revenue of ($36.67) million for the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.23) EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that QuantumScape Corporation will post -0.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in QS. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in shares of QuantumScape by 97.2% in the 1st quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 39,964 shares of the company’s stock valued at $166,000 after acquiring an additional 19,694 shares during the last quarter. Perbak Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in QuantumScape in the 1st quarter worth about $353,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in QuantumScape in the first quarter valued at about $2,819,000. CacheTech Inc. bought a new position in QuantumScape in the first quarter valued at about $130,000. Finally, Private Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of QuantumScape by 17.1% during the first quarter. Private Advisory Group LLC now owns 447,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,862,000 after purchasing an additional 65,237 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.