Insider Buying: Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) Director Acquires $284,000.00 in Stock

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) Director Thomas Fallon purchased 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $14.20 per share, for a total transaction of $284,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 150,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,135,239.80. This represents a 15.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Hercules Capital Stock Performance

NYSE HTGC traded down $1.22 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $14.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 10,141,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,633,990. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a 12 month low of $14.10 and a 12 month high of $21.14. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The company has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.77 and a beta of 0.84.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 63.80% and a return on equity of 15.97%. The firm had revenue of $133.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $141.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. As a group, sell-side 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 paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Hercules Capital’s payout ratio is currently 87.43%.

Key Hercules Capital News

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Hercules Capital from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $20.50 to $17.50 in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Capital One Financial set a $19.75 price objective on shares of Hercules Capital in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered Hercules Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Hercules Capital from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hercules Capital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.29.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hercules Capital

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 79.6% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 612 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Hercules Capital by 173.4% in the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 879 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new stake in Hercules Capital in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hercules Capital during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hercules Capital in the third quarter worth about $29,000. 19.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.