Horizon Technology Finance (NASDAQ:HRZN) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Compass Point

Compass Point upgraded shares of Horizon Technology Finance (NASDAQ:HRZN) to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

HRZN has been the subject of several other reports. Zacks Research upgraded Horizon Technology Finance from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Horizon Technology Finance from $4.50 to $4.25 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Horizon Technology Finance from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Horizon Technology Finance from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Horizon Technology Finance from $5.00 to $4.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Horizon Technology Finance has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $4.95.

Horizon Technology Finance Stock Performance

Horizon Technology Finance stock opened at $4.82 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $4.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.66. Horizon Technology Finance has a 1 year low of $3.80 and a 1 year high of $7.07. The company has a market capitalization of $323.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.39 and a beta of 0.98.

Horizon Technology Finance (NASDAQ:HRZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The investment management company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of ($44.66) million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.22 million. Horizon Technology Finance had a return on equity of 11.15% and a net margin of 5.27%. Equities analysts expect that Horizon Technology Finance will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Horizon Technology Finance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 17th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 14.9%. Horizon Technology Finance’s dividend payout ratio is 200.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Daniel R. Trolio acquired 11,500 shares of Horizon Technology Finance stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $4.34 per share, with a total value of $49,910.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 15,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,199.82. The trade was a 326.43% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Allison acquired 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $4.36 per share, with a total value of $26,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 55,926 shares in the company, valued at $243,837.36. This trade represents a 12.02% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 134,977 shares of company stock valued at $585,975. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Horizon Technology Finance

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC purchased a new stake in Horizon Technology Finance in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Horizon Technology Finance in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Horizon Technology Finance in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $50,000. HRT Financial LP purchased a new stake in shares of Horizon Technology Finance in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Finally, Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Horizon Technology Finance in the first quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 4.94% of the company’s stock.

About Horizon Technology Finance

Horizon Technology Finance Corporation is a specialty finance company organized as a business development company (BDC) that provides private credit solutions to venture capital and private equity-backed technology, life science and healthcare companies. The firm targets companies at various stages of development, offering secured debt financing structures such as first‐lien and second‐lien loans, as well as equity co‐investment opportunities in select portfolio companies.

Horizon Technology Finance’s investment strategy emphasizes deployment of capital in U.S.‐based enterprises with proven technology, strong management teams and clear paths to growth.