Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) CEO Scott Bluestein Purchases 7,000 Shares

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) CEO Scott Bluestein bought 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $14.35 per share, with a total value of $100,450.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,516,379 shares in the company, valued at $36,110,038.65. The trade was a 0.28% increase in their position. The purchase 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 purchased 30,000 shares of Hercules Capital stock. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $15.08 per share, for a total transaction of $452,400.00.

Hercules Capital Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HTGC opened at $14.22 on Friday. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a 12-month low of $14.10 and a 12-month high of $21.14. 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 company has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a PE ratio of 7.77 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.17.

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, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48. The company had revenue of $133.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $141.57 million. Hercules Capital had a return on equity of 15.97% and a net margin of 63.80%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 1.96 EPS for the current year.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on HTGC shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Hercules Capital from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Hercules Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 20th. Capital One Financial set a $19.75 price target on shares of Hercules Capital in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut Hercules Capital from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $20.50 to $17.50 in a report on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hercules Capital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.29.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hercules Capital

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CWM LLC lifted its position 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 worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 879 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hercules Capital during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hercules Capital during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hercules Capital during the third quarter worth $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.69% of the company’s stock.

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

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.