Short Interest in Humacyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:HUMA) Rises By 34.9%

Humacyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:HUMA) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 29,620,000 shares, an increase of 34.9% from the December 15th total of 21,960,000 shares. Currently, 28.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 4,700,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.3 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HUMA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 price objective (up from $12.00) on shares of Humacyte in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Piper Sandler set a $6.00 price target on shares of Humacyte and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. D. Boral Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Humacyte in a report on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $10.00 target price on shares of Humacyte in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $10.00 price target on shares of Humacyte in a research note on Friday, October 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $13.71.

Humacyte Price Performance

HUMA opened at $4.41 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $4.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.66. The stock has a market cap of $555.04 million, a P/E ratio of -3.29 and a beta of 1.32. Humacyte has a 1-year low of $2.53 and a 1-year high of $9.97.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Brady W. Dougan sold 427,459 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.34, for a total transaction of $1,855,172.06. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,992,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,646,378.02. This trade represents a 17.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Laura E. Niklason sold 261,369 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.40, for a total value of $1,150,023.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,730,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,615,889.60. The trade was a 13.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,500,000 shares of company stock valued at $6,606,799. 11.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brookstone Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Humacyte in the 4th quarter worth about $56,000. ACT Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Humacyte in the fourth quarter valued at about $57,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Humacyte in the third quarter valued at approximately $75,000. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Humacyte during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $96,000. Finally, Profund Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Humacyte during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $97,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 44.71% of the company’s stock.

Humacyte Company Profile

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.