Nikola Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:NKLA)

Nikola Co. (NASDAQ:NKLA) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Traders acquired 64,439 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 50% compared to the average daily volume of 42,833 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NKLA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Nikola in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Nikola in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Bryan, Garnier & Co began coverage on shares of Nikola in a report on Thursday, May 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $30.00 target price for the company.

Nikola Stock Up 2,571.8 %

NKLA stock opened at $9.37 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $12.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.84 and a beta of 2.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Nikola has a 12 month low of $8.77 and a 12 month high of $111.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $16.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.57.

Nikola (NASDAQ:NKLA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported ($3.00) EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($3.00). The business had revenue of $7.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.05 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Nikola will post -0.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Girsky bought 33,333 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $16.20 per share, with a total value of $539,994.60. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 241,433 shares in the company, valued at $3,911,214.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nikola

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Nikola in the 4th quarter valued at $93,633,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Nikola by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 80,262,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,473,000 after acquiring an additional 3,117,074 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Nikola by 65.4% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,695,472 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,123,000 after acquiring an additional 4,229,114 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Nikola by 28.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,754,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,909,000 after acquiring an additional 1,512,542 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Nikola by 10.9% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,646,363 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,832,000 after acquiring an additional 454,804 shares in 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.