Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) Hits New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC)’s share price hit a new 52-week low on Friday . The company traded as low as $14.17 and last traded at $14.4610, with a volume of 3106572 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $15.43.

Hercules Capital News Roundup

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on HTGC shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Hercules Capital from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Piper Sandler lowered Hercules Capital from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $20.50 to $17.50 in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen cut Hercules Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Hercules Capital from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hercules Capital currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.29.

Hercules Capital Trading Down 7.9%

The company has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.77 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50 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.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.48. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 63.80% and a return on equity of 15.97%. The business had revenue of $133.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $141.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 1.96 EPS for the current year.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Hercules Capital

In other Hercules Capital news, CEO Scott Bluestein bought 7,000 shares of Hercules Capital stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $14.35 per share, for a total transaction of $100,450.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 2,516,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,110,038.65. The trade was a 0.28% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert P. Badavas purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $14.27 per share, with a total value of $71,350.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 122,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,741,981.71. This represents a 4.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have acquired a total of 113,965 shares of company stock worth $1,704,541 in the last three months. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hercules Capital

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 79.6% in 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 period. Fox Run Management L.L.C. boosted its stake in Hercules Capital by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 24,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $458,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Hercules Capital by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 37,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $715,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 6,652 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 680 shares during the period. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 0.5% in the second quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 143,346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,620,000 after purchasing an additional 697 shares in the last quarter. 19.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.