Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) Rating Lowered to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Hercules Capital in a research report on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group lowered their price target on Hercules Capital from $19.00 to $18.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Hercules Capital from $21.00 to $20.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Capital One Financial set a $19.75 target price on shares of Hercules Capital in a research note on Monday, December 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hercules Capital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.32.

Hercules Capital Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE:HTGC opened at $18.49 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 1.65. Hercules Capital has a fifty-two week low of $15.65 and a fifty-two week high of $22.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.75 and a beta of 0.85.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $138.09 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $136.95 million. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 60.05% and a return on equity of 16.13%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Hercules Capital will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hercules Capital news, Director Gayle A. Crowell purchased 6,000 shares of Hercules Capital stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $17.77 per share, with a total value of $106,620.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 78,727 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,398,978.79. This represents a 8.25% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new position in Hercules Capital during the second quarter valued at $522,447,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of Hercules Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at about $11,199,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 425.6% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 580,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,610,000 after buying an additional 469,989 shares during the last quarter. HRT Financial LP grew its holdings in Hercules Capital by 100.9% during the second quarter. HRT Financial LP now owns 558,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,200,000 after acquiring an additional 280,198 shares during the period. Finally, Credit Agricole S A purchased a new position in Hercules Capital during the third quarter valued at approximately $5,271,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.69% of the company’s stock.

Hercules Capital Company Profile

Hercules Capital, Inc is a specialty finance company organized as a business development company (BDC) that provides tailored debt financing solutions to high‐growth companies. Through its external management structure, Hercules Capital extends senior secured loans, subordinated debt and growth capital designed to support research and development, expansion initiatives and working capital needs. The firm primarily partners with venture capital and private equity sponsors to finance innovative enterprises across various developmental stages.

The company’s investment portfolio is concentrated in technology, life sciences and sustainable and renewable technology sectors, reflecting its focus on industries with strong growth prospects and recurring capital requirements.