Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) Stock Price

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) had its price target cut by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $18.00 to $17.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price points to a potential upside of 8.92% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on HTGC. Wall Street Zen cut Hercules Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 20th. Capital One Financial set a $19.75 price objective on shares of Hercules Capital in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Hercules Capital in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Hercules Capital from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $20.50 to $17.50 in a research report on Friday. Finally, Lucid Cap Mkts upgraded Hercules Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.61.

Hercules Capital Trading Down 6.0%

Shares of NYSE HTGC opened at $15.61 on Friday. Hercules Capital has a twelve month low of $15.65 and a twelve month high of $22.04. The company’s fifty day moving average is $18.40 and its 200-day moving average is $18.47. The stock has a market cap of $2.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.14 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.48. Hercules Capital had a return on equity of 16.13% and a net margin of 60.05%.The business had revenue of $133.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $141.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Hercules Capital will post 1.96 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Hercules Capital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Hercules Capital in the third quarter worth approximately $11,199,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its holdings in Hercules Capital by 425.6% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 580,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,610,000 after buying an additional 469,989 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its position in Hercules Capital by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,671,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,464,000 after buying an additional 353,092 shares during the last quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Hercules Capital by 34.5% during the 4th quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. now owns 1,335,787 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,140,000 after acquiring an additional 342,967 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HRT Financial LP boosted its holdings in Hercules Capital by 100.9% during the 2nd quarter. HRT Financial LP now owns 558,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,200,000 after acquiring an additional 280,198 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 19.69% of the company’s stock.

Hercules Capital Company Profile

Hercules Capital, Inc is a specialty finance company organized as a business development company (BDC) that provides tailored debt financing solutions to high‐growth companies. Through its external management structure, Hercules Capital extends senior secured loans, subordinated debt and growth capital designed to support research and development, expansion initiatives and working capital needs. The firm primarily partners with venture capital and private equity sponsors to finance innovative enterprises across various developmental stages.

The company’s investment portfolio is concentrated in technology, life sciences and sustainable and renewable technology sectors, reflecting its focus on industries with strong growth prospects and recurring capital requirements.