Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Nikola (NASDAQ:NKLA)

Nikola Co. (NASDAQ:NKLA) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock investors purchased 181,983 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 451% compared to the typical volume of 33,007 call options.

Nikola Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NKLA opened at $1.43 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $3.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $6.84. The company has a market cap of $87.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.10 and a beta of 1.92. Nikola has a 12 month low of $1.32 and a 12 month high of $34.50.

Nikola (NASDAQ:NKLA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported ($2.75) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.24) by ($0.51). The business had revenue of $25.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.23 million. Nikola had a negative net margin of 840.44% and a negative return on equity of 95.73%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1382.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on NKLA. TD Cowen cut their target price on Nikola from $10.00 to $4.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bryan, Garnier & Co lowered shares of Nikola from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Nikola from $12.00 to $4.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Nikola from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Nikola presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Nikola by 193.3% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 140,523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $644,000 after buying an additional 92,612 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Nikola by 121.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 9,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 5,190 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nikola by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 524,731 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,404,000 after acquiring an additional 53,966 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Nikola in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $326,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Nikola in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $336,000. 37.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.