Nikola (NASDAQ:NKLA) Shares Down 2.5%

Nikola Co. (NASDAQ:NKLA)’s share price traded down 2.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $0.77 and last traded at $0.79. 55,577,513 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the average session volume of 89,781,047 shares. The stock had previously closed at $0.81.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of Nikola in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $2.00 target price for the company. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $1.00 price target on shares of Nikola in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th.

Nikola Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $0.71 and its 200-day moving average is $0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Nikola (NASDAQ:NKLA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.17) by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $11.53 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.52 million. Nikola had a negative net margin of 1,475.52% and a negative return on equity of 122.20%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.46) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Nikola Co. will post -0.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Joseph R. Pike sold 75,162 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $0.68, for a total value of $51,110.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 429,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $292,257.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 10.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nikola

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NKLA. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Nikola by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 79,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $847,000 after acquiring an additional 3,523 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Nikola by 577.7% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 15,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 13,044 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Nikola by 57.0% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 125,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,347,000 after buying an additional 45,661 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Nikola by 6.3% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 245,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,630,000 after buying an additional 14,645 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Nikola during the first quarter valued at about $343,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 37.38% of the company’s stock.

About Nikola

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.