Humacyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:HUMA) Short Interest Update

Humacyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:HUMA) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 29,620,000 shares, an increase of 34.9% from the December 31st total of 21,960,000 shares. Currently, 28.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,700,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.3 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on HUMA. Benchmark increased their price target on Humacyte from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $10.00 target price on shares of Humacyte in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler set a $6.00 price target on Humacyte and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 target price (up from $12.00) on shares of Humacyte in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $10.00 price target on shares of Humacyte in a report on Friday, October 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.71.

Humacyte Stock Up 1.0 %

HUMA traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $4.61. 91,320 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,520,663. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $4.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.59. Humacyte has a 1-year low of $2.81 and a 1-year high of $9.97. The stock has a market cap of $579.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.46 and a beta of 1.32.

Humacyte (NASDAQ:HUMA) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported ($0.33) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.25) by ($0.08). During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.25) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Humacyte will post -1.27 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Laura E. Niklason sold 261,369 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.40, for a total transaction of $1,150,023.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,730,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,615,889.60. This trade represents a 13.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Brady W. Dougan sold 427,459 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.34, for a total transaction of $1,855,172.06. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,992,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,646,378.02. The trade was a 17.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,500,000 shares of company stock worth $6,606,799 in the last three months. 11.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Humacyte

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vontobel Holding Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Humacyte during the 4th quarter worth $50,000. Brookstone Capital Management bought a new position in Humacyte in the 4th quarter valued at about $56,000. ACT Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Humacyte in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Humacyte in the third quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Finally, FORA Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Humacyte in the 3rd quarter valued at $96,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 44.71% of the company’s stock.

About Humacyte

Humacyte, Inc engages in the development and manufacture of off-the-shelf, implantable, and bioengineered human tissues for the treatment of diseases and conditions across a range of anatomic locations in multiple therapeutic areas. The company using its proprietary and scientific technology platform to engineer and manufacture human acellular vessels (HAVs) to be implanted into patient without inducing a foreign body response or leading to immune rejection.