Traders Purchase High Volume of Humacyte Call Options (NASDAQ:HUMA)

Humacyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:HUMA) saw unusually large options trading on Monday. Traders bought 4,744 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 150% compared to the average volume of 1,895 call options.

Humacyte Trading Up 20.7 %

Humacyte stock traded up $1.45 during trading on Monday, reaching $8.44. The company had a trading volume of 7,127,608 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,906,861. Humacyte has a 12-month low of $1.96 and a 12-month high of $9.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 8.37 and a current ratio of 8.37. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $6.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.52 and a beta of 1.52.

Humacyte (NASDAQ:HUMA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 10th. The company reported ($0.29) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.23) by ($0.06). As a group, equities analysts expect that Humacyte will post -0.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $7.00 price objective on shares of Humacyte in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of Humacyte in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of Humacyte from $8.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $4.00 price target on shares of Humacyte in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $8.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Brady W. Dougan sold 271,518 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.30, for a total value of $1,982,081.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,559,140 shares in the company, valued at $33,281,722. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Humacyte news, COO Heather Ledbetter Prichard sold 188,886 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.14, for a total transaction of $1,537,532.04. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,367.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Brady W. Dougan sold 271,518 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.30, for a total value of $1,982,081.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,559,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,281,722. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have bought 54,412 shares of company stock worth $369,107 and have sold 1,628,820 shares worth $12,464,121. 23.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Humacyte

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HUMA. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of Humacyte by 261.7% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 6,504 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new stake in Humacyte in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Humacyte during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Humacyte by 350.4% during the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 9,325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Humacyte in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 44.71% of the company’s stock.

About Humacyte

Humacyte, Inc engages in the development and manufacture of off-the-shelf, implantable, and bioengineered human tissues for the treatment of diseases and conditions across a range of anatomic locations in multiple therapeutic areas. The company using its proprietary and scientific technology platform to engineer and manufacture human acellular vessels (HAVs) to be implanted into patient without inducing a foreign body response or leading to immune rejection.