Wells Fargo & Company Lowers Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) Price Target to $17.00

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) had its target price lowered by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $18.00 to $17.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 8.92% from the stock’s previous close.

HTGC has been the topic of a number of other reports. Lucid Cap Mkts upgraded Hercules Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. 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 reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Hercules Capital in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler cut shares of Hercules Capital from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $20.50 to $17.50 in a research note on Friday. Finally, Capital One Financial set a $19.75 price target on shares of Hercules Capital in a research report on Monday, December 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.61.

Hercules Capital Stock Down 6.0%

HTGC stock opened at $15.61 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $18.40 and a 200-day moving average of $18.47. Hercules Capital has a fifty-two week low of $15.65 and a fifty-two week high of $22.04. The company has a market capitalization of $2.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.14 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 1.65.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.48. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 60.05% and a return on equity of 16.13%. The company had revenue of $133.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $141.57 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Hercules Capital will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HTGC. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Hercules Capital by 79.6% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 612 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 173.4% in the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 879 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hercules Capital during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hercules Capital during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in Hercules Capital in the third quarter worth about $29,000. 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.