QuantumScape (NYSE:QS) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Shares of QuantumScape Corporation (NYSE:QS) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $4.33, but opened at $6.01. QuantumScape shares last traded at $6.01, with a volume of 55,805,759 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on QS. UBS Group lowered shares of QuantumScape from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $5.00 to $2.50 in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on QuantumScape from $3.00 to $2.50 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on QuantumScape from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, QuantumScape currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $5.19.

QuantumScape Trading Up 35.0%

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 16.66 and a quick ratio of 16.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.41 and a beta of 4.27.

QuantumScape (NYSE:QS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported ($0.21) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by ($0.02). During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.24) earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that QuantumScape Corporation will post -0.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other QuantumScape news, insider Mohit Singh sold 71,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.41, for a total value of $314,997.48. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,640,998 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,236,801.18. The trade was a 4.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Fritz Prinz sold 61,523 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.94, for a total value of $242,400.62. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 231,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $912,228.20. The trade was a 20.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QuantumScape

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of QuantumScape during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,275,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of QuantumScape in the 4th quarter worth $1,527,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in QuantumScape by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,331,966 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,103,000 after buying an additional 104,894 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of QuantumScape by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,440,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $168,367,000 after buying an additional 956,072 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in QuantumScape by 1,091.5% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 432,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,244,000 after purchasing an additional 396,160 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 29.87% of the company’s stock.

QuantumScape Company Profile

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.