Piper Sandler Raises Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) Price Target to $22.00

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) had its target price lifted by stock analysts at Piper Sandler from $21.50 to $22.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 6.13% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Hercules Capital from $19.50 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Hercules Capital from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, JMP Securities increased their price objective on Hercules Capital from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.63.

Hercules Capital Stock Performance

Shares of HTGC traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $20.73. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 128,202 shares, compared to its average volume of 900,189. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.56. Hercules Capital has a 52-week low of $15.02 and a 52-week high of $21.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.47. The company has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.42 and a beta of 1.39.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.02. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 69.98% and a return on equity of 18.35%. The business had revenue of $121.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $121.86 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Hercules Capital will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert P. Badavas sold 1,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.60, for a total transaction of $33,320.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $82,986.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Hercules Capital news, Director Robert P. Badavas sold 13,300 shares of Hercules Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.69, for a total transaction of $261,877.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,367.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert P. Badavas sold 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.60, for a total value of $33,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $82,986.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hercules Capital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its position in Hercules Capital by 154.8% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,594 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hercules Capital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Hercules Capital by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 789 shares in the last quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in Hercules Capital during the fourth quarter valued at $56,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. bought a new stake in Hercules Capital in the fourth quarter worth $66,000. 19.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hercules Capital Company Profile

Hercules Capital, Inc is a business development company. The firm specializing in providing venture debt, debt, senior secured loans, and growth capital to privately held venture capital-backed companies at all stages of development from startups to expansion stage including select publicly listed companies and select special opportunity lower middle market companies that require additional capital to fund acquisitions, recapitalizations and refinancing and established-stage companies.