Nikola Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:NKLA)

Nikola Co. (NASDAQ:NKLA) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Traders bought 83,379 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 93% compared to the typical volume of 43,246 put options.

Insider Activity at Nikola

In other Nikola news, CEO Stephen J. Girsky bought 33,333 shares of Nikola stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $16.20 per share, with a total value of $539,994.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 241,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,911,214.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Nikola by 27.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 56,706,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,029,000 after purchasing an additional 12,085,830 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Nikola by 78.3% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 291,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 127,856 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Nikola by 22.7% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 729,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $638,000 after buying an additional 135,041 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Nikola by 47.5% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,466,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,657,000 after buying an additional 2,083,089 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Nikola by 55.7% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 123,022 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,000 after buying an additional 43,985 shares in the last quarter. 37.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Nikola Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NKLA traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $9.98. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,234,146 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,400,050. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $13.80 and a 200 day moving average of $19.29. Nikola has a twelve month low of $7.25 and a twelve month high of $111.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $450.80 million, a PE ratio of -0.31 and a beta of 2.09.

Nikola (NASDAQ:NKLA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported ($3.00) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($3.00). The company had revenue of $7.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.05 million.

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.