Humacyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:HUMA) Short Interest Up 34.9% in January

Humacyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:HUMA) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in 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. Approximately 28.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 4,700,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.3 days.

Humacyte Price Performance

Humacyte stock opened at $4.58 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.58. Humacyte has a twelve month low of $2.81 and a twelve month high of $9.97.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Humacyte

In related news, CEO Laura E. Niklason sold 811,172 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.44, for a total value of $3,601,603.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,419,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,743,521.28. This trade represents a 25.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Brady W. Dougan sold 427,459 shares of Humacyte stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.34, for a total value of $1,855,172.06. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,992,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,646,378.02. This represents 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 valued at $6,606,799 in the last three months. Company insiders own 11.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Humacyte

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Humacyte by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 27,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,000 after buying an additional 4,327 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Humacyte by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 114,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $578,000 after acquiring an additional 5,005 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Humacyte by 1.8% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 373,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,030,000 after acquiring an additional 6,510 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Humacyte by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 39,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 7,069 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Humacyte by 32.5% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 34,919 shares of the company’s stock worth $168,000 after purchasing an additional 8,557 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 44.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. D. Boral Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Humacyte in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of Humacyte from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $10.00 target price on shares of Humacyte in a research report on Friday, October 18th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price target (up previously from $12.00) on shares of Humacyte in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $6.00 price target on Humacyte and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.71.

Humacyte Company Profile

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.