QuantumScape Ticks Up After Diving on Short-Seller Report
QuantumScape (QS) - Get Report rose Friday after the electric vehicle battery maker's shares nosedived on the heels of scathing report from activist short-seller Scorpion Capital that branded the company as a "pump and dump SPAC" scam.
Shares of the company, based in San Jose, Calif., were up 2.12% to $36.61 at last check after tumbling in the previous session.
In addition to the "pump and dump" allegation, the Scorpion Capital report lambasted the company for claiming "to have a 'magic material' that’s led to a breakthrough solid-state battery for electric vehicles."
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QuantumScape said it stood by its data, describing Scorpion as "a financially-incentivized short seller" that was looking to "short a stock, follow with a negative 'report,' make money on their short position, and quickly cover to lock in their gains."
The company also noted some of the disclosures in the Scorpion report, including one that states, "the quotations of experts used in this article do not reflect all information they have shared with us, including, without limitation, certain positive comments and experiences with respect to QuantumScape.”
Another disclosure, the company said, states that Scorpion spoke with former QuantumScape employees, who "are by definition separated from the company and thus the information they have provided may be outdated."
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"As our public filings have clearly stated," QuantumScape said in an email, "we have work to do, so this will be our last comment on this topic. We will now get back to work and continue to let our execution speak for itself."
Separately, QuantumScape said that Celina Mikolajczak, vice-president of engineering and battery technology at Panasonic Energy of North America, was named to the company's board as an independent director.
Mikolajczak also worked at Uber (UBER) - Get Report and Tesla (TSLA) - Get Report.
"We’re going to use her beyond a director. We’re going to have her looking at our tool decisions, process decisions,” CEO Jagdeep Singh told Bloomberg in an interview.
QuantumScape has said its batteries could offer about 50% more range than current commercial battery technology.
Its subsidiary, QuantumScape Battery, recently leased 196,600 square feet in San Jose, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Volkswagen has invested in QuantumScape and Bill Gates, Microsoft’s (MSFT) - Get Report co-founder, is another major backer.
