Gayle Crowell Buys 6,600 Shares of Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) Stock

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) Director Gayle Crowell purchased 6,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $15.20 per share, for a total transaction of $100,320.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 87,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,329,361.60. This trade represents a 8.16% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Hercules Capital Price Performance

NYSE:HTGC opened at $15.43 on Friday. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a 52-week low of $14.57 and a 52-week high of $21.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $17.73 and a 200 day moving average of $18.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.43 and a beta of 0.84.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.48. The firm had revenue of $133.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $141.57 million. Hercules Capital had a return on equity of 15.97% and a net margin of 63.80%.During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 1.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Hercules Capital’s payout ratio is presently 87.43%.

Key Stories Impacting Hercules Capital

Here are the key news stories impacting Hercules Capital this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple meaningful insider purchases — CEO Scott Bluestein bought 30,000 shares (~$15.08 avg) and several directors (Badavas, Crowell, Wade Loo) added shares at ~ $14.98–$15.20 — signaling management confidence and likely supporting buying interest. Scott Bluestein SEC Filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts modestly reset fair value — one composite model trimmed a target from $21.22 to $20.31 (small pullback, not a large cut), implying mixed but not drastic changes to valuation assumptions. How The Hercules Capital (HTGC) Story Is Shifting
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest surged ~52% in February to ~8.11M shares (about 4.5% of shares), increasing bearish pressure and potential volatility from short activity.
• Negative Sentiment: Piper Sandler and other firms trimmed ratings/targets after Q4: Piper Sandler downgraded HTGC to Neutral and cut its PT to $17.50 (Wells Fargo also lowered its PT). These downgrades add headwinds to sentiment. Piper Sandler Downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Fundamentals are mixed: Q4 EPS met consensus ($0.48) but revenue missed expectations and the company announced a reduced quarterly dividend of $0.07 — factors that can weigh on income-focused investors and short-term sentiment.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of HTGC. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Hercules Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at about $11,199,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its stake in Hercules Capital by 425.6% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 580,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,610,000 after purchasing an additional 469,989 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its position in Hercules Capital by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,671,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,464,000 after purchasing an additional 353,092 shares during the last quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 34.5% during the fourth quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. now owns 1,335,787 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,140,000 after purchasing an additional 342,967 shares during the period. Finally, HRT Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 100.9% during the second quarter. HRT Financial LP now owns 558,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,200,000 after purchasing an additional 280,198 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Hercules Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 20th. Weiss Ratings lowered Hercules Capital from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Hercules Capital from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Lucid Cap Mkts raised Hercules Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded Hercules Capital from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $20.50 to $17.50 in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.29.

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.