Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY) Rating Lowered to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

RWAY has been the topic of several other research reports. Zacks Research cut shares of Runway Growth Finance from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. B. Riley Financial reduced their price objective on Runway Growth Finance from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Runway Growth Finance from $10.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Runway Growth Finance in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Runway Growth Finance from $9.50 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $9.60.

Runway Growth Finance Price Performance

NASDAQ RWAY opened at $6.84 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $8.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.21. Runway Growth Finance has a 52 week low of $6.61 and a 52 week high of $11.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $247.13 million, a P/E ratio of 7.43 and a beta of 0.70.

Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $30.04 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.60 million. Runway Growth Finance had a return on equity of 11.52% and a net margin of 24.79%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Runway Growth Finance will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Runway Growth Finance

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,671,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,694,000 after buying an additional 261,768 shares in the last quarter. North Ground Capital increased its stake in Runway Growth Finance by 102.5% in the 4th quarter. North Ground Capital now owns 1,569,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,012,000 after buying an additional 794,050 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Runway Growth Finance by 3.6% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,442,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,654,000 after acquiring an additional 49,685 shares during the period. Bulldog Investors LLP raised its holdings in Runway Growth Finance by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Bulldog Investors LLP now owns 1,200,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,724,000 after acquiring an additional 159,588 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 57.0% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 638,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,702,000 after acquiring an additional 231,744 shares in the last quarter. 64.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Runway Growth Finance

Runway Growth Finance, Inc is a publicly traded business development company that provides customized debt and equity financing solutions to high‐growth, venture‐backed companies. The firm specializes in structuring senior secured loans, unitranche facilities, second‐lien financings, convertible notes and equity co‐investments designed to extend the cash runway for late‐stage companies. Runway’s flexible capital offerings are aimed at supporting technology, life sciences and other innovation‐driven sectors as they pursue growth initiatives and prepare for liquidity events.

Originally launched in 2017 under the name Saratoga Investment Corp., the company rebranded as Runway Growth Finance in 2020 following the acquisition of an established middle‐market credit manager.