Insider Selling: QuantumScape (NYSE:QS) Director Sells 684,524 Shares of Stock

QuantumScape Corporation (NYSE:QS) Director Dipender Saluja sold 684,524 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.94, for a total value of $8,173,216.56. Following the sale, the director owned 12,506,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,322,296.70. The trade was a 5.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Dipender Saluja also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, December 15th, Dipender Saluja sold 2,613,121 shares of QuantumScape stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.01, for a total transaction of $28,770,462.21.

QuantumScape Stock Up 0.4%

QS stock traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $10.88. 17,040,398 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 28,443,484. The company has a market cap of $6.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.43 and a beta of 2.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 21.14 and a current ratio of 21.14. QuantumScape Corporation has a 1-year low of $3.40 and a 1-year high of $19.07. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $14.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.68.

QuantumScape (NYSE:QS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.18). During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.23) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that QuantumScape Corporation will post -0.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on QS. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on QuantumScape in a research report on Monday, December 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $12.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $10.00 price target on QuantumScape and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of QuantumScape in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $12.00 price objective (up from $8.00) on shares of QuantumScape in a report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of QuantumScape in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, QuantumScape currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $9.17.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QuantumScape

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in QuantumScape by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,635,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $451,346,000 after buying an additional 422,378 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of QuantumScape by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,914,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,475,000 after acquiring an additional 768,070 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of QuantumScape by 456.5% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,759,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,799,000 after acquiring an additional 3,904,168 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in shares of QuantumScape by 150.1% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 3,630,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,725,000 after acquiring an additional 2,178,918 shares during the period. Finally, Man Group plc purchased a new position in QuantumScape during the third quarter worth about $44,421,000. 29.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.