Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) Price Target Raised to $22.50 at Piper Sandler

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) had its price objective upped by equities research analysts at Piper Sandler from $22.00 to $22.50 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 15.68% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. JMP Securities increased their price target on shares of Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Hercules Capital from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.19.

Hercules Capital Price Performance

HTGC traded down $1.86 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $19.45. 1,877,847 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 901,748. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.84 and a beta of 1.39. Hercules Capital has a one year low of $15.02 and a one year high of $21.78. The company has a quick ratio of 2.47, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.04.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51. The company had revenue of $125.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $124.99 million. Hercules Capital had a return on equity of 18.35% and a net margin of 69.98%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Hercules Capital will post 2.06 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. NBC Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 154.8% in 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 last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hercules Capital in the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Hercules Capital in the fourth quarter valued at $56,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Hercules Capital by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 789 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Hercules Capital by 28.9% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 806 shares during the period. 19.69% of the stock is currently 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.