Shares of QuantumScape Corp (NYSE:QS) were last seen up 25.8% to trade at $9.86, after the battery manufacturer held a landmark live demonstration, successfully powering an electric vehicle (EV) with its solid-state lithium batteries for the first time. The San Jose-based company, which primarily works to ensure the energy efficiency of EVs, collaborated with PowerCo Se, the battery company behind Volkswagen Group, to accomplish this feat, utilizing a Ducati motorcycle as a test subject.
The stock traded as high as $10.68 out of the gate this morning and is on track for its best single-session gain of the year, but remains far off its late-June highs. Despite stumbling 7.8% in August thanks to a weak late-July earnings report, the shares found support at their 100-day moving average, and still boast a 89.9% year-to-date gain.
Analysts aren't as sold on the stock's recent performance -- eight of the nine firms in coverage maintain a bearish outlook. Whenever the brokerage bunch shifts its tone, the flurry of bull notes could keep the wind at the equity's back. A short squeeze could also power gains, with short interest down 22% in the two most recent reporting periods and a healthy 12.4% of QS' total available float sold short.
While calls outnumber puts on an absolute basis, the rate of put buying has picked up lately. On the International Securities (ISE), Cboe Options (CBOE) and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) -- QS' 50-day put/call ratio of 0.42 sits in the 99th percentile of annual readings.
Options traders are betting on further wins, however, with today's 65,000 calls far outpacing just 13,000 puts. Intraday activity is moving at six times the usual amount seen at this point. The weekly 9/12 10-strike call is the reigning favorite, while the 11 and 10.5-strike calls in the same series are also garnering some attention -- positions are opening at all three levels.
