Scott Bluestein Buys 7,000 Shares of Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) Stock

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) CEO Scott Bluestein acquired 7,000 shares of Hercules Capital stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $14.35 per share, for a total transaction of $100,450.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,516,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,110,038.65. This represents a 0.28% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Scott Bluestein also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, February 24th, Scott Bluestein acquired 30,000 shares of Hercules Capital stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of $15.08 per share, with a total value of $452,400.00.

Hercules Capital Stock Down 7.9%

Shares of Hercules Capital stock opened at $14.22 on Friday. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a twelve month low of $14.10 and a twelve month high of $21.14. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $17.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.77 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Hercules Capital’s payout ratio is 87.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HTGC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Hercules Capital from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Capital One Financial set a $19.75 price target on shares of Hercules Capital in a report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings cut Hercules Capital from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler cut shares of Hercules Capital from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $20.50 to $17.50 in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.29.

Hercules Capital News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple insiders (CEO Scott Bluestein, CFO Seth Meyer and several directors) bought stock this week — collectively over ~46,000 shares — signaling management confidence at current levels. See the CEO’s SEC filing for details. CEO SEC Filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts have modestly lowered fair-value estimates and price targets (examples: consolidated fair value trimmed from ~$21.22 to ~$20.31; several firms trimmed targets and ratings), a recalibration rather than a wholesale downgrade of the thesis. Analyst Note
• Negative Sentiment: Unusual bearish options flow — investors bought ~28,062 put contracts (a >1,200% jump vs typical daily put volume) — a strong short-term bearish signal that can amplify downward pressure.
• Negative Sentiment: Hercules cut its quarterly dividend to $0.07 (annualized $0.28), reducing income appeal for yield‑seeking investors and increasing concern about payout sustainability (payout ratio ~87%). See company data and dividend details. MarketBeat HTGC
• Negative Sentiment: Recent analyst downgrades and price‑target cuts (Wells Fargo, Keefe Bruyette & Woods, Piper Sandler and others) have pressured sentiment and likely contributed to selling. Analyst Coverage

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 81.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 79,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,499,000 after purchasing an additional 35,722 shares during the last quarter. Rare Wolf Capital LLC bought a new stake in Hercules Capital in the 4th quarter valued at $1,036,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hercules Capital in the 4th quarter valued at $123,000. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Hercules Capital by 29.8% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 42,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $799,000 after purchasing an additional 9,750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Hercules Capital by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $630,000 after buying an additional 2,039 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.69% of the company’s stock.

About Hercules Capital

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.