Hercules Capital (HTGC) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE: HTGC) is a specialty finance company that provides debt capital to venture capital-backed companies. The firm focuses on offering customized financing solutions—including senior secured debt, convertible debt, and equipment financing—to high-growth enterprises across technology, life sciences, and sustainable and renewable energy sectors. By partnering with emerging firms at the late venture and growth stages, Hercules Capital seeks to support scaling operations, product commercialization, and other strategic initiatives without diluting equity.

The company’s core products encompass venture lending, asset-based financing, and structured growth capital. Hercules Capital structures its loans with flexible covenant packages, tailored amortization schedules, and options for warrants that align with the risk profiles of fast-growing businesses. This financing approach allows portfolio companies to extend their cash runway while preserving ownership stakes, thereby complementing traditional equity investments made by venture capital sponsors.

Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Hercules Capital has built a track record of nearly two decades in venture finance. The firm completed its initial public offering in November 2014 and has since grown its portfolio to include more than 200 companies. Over time, Hercules Capital has earned a reputation for disciplined underwriting, active portfolio monitoring, and proactive risk management in the venture debt market.

While the majority of Hercules Capital’s investments are in U.S.-based companies, the firm also extends financing to select businesses in Canada and Europe. The management team is led by Chief Executive Officer Lorenzo Marsili and a group of seasoned investment professionals with deep expertise in technology, life sciences, and renewable energy sectors. Together, they oversee deal sourcing, credit analysis, and portfolio stewardship, positioning Hercules Capital as a key lender to innovation-driven enterprises.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $18.66 to $19.00
• 50-Day Range: $17.29 to $18.94
• 52-Week Range: $15.65 to $22.04
• Volume: 961,488 shs
• Average Volume: 1.12 million shs
• Market Capitalization: $3.32 billion
• P/E Ratio: 14.24
• Dividend Yield: 8.45%
• Price Target: $19.92
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy

Hercules Capital Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Hercules Capital scored higher than 43% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 676th out of 936 stocks in the finance sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 1.3 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Moderate Buy

Consensus Rating

Hercules Capital has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.67, and is based on 4 buy ratings, 2 hold ratings, and no sell ratings.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Hercules Capital has only been the subject of 2 research reports in the past 90 days.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 1.9 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 3.57%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Hercules Capital are expected to grow by 3.57% in the coming year, from $1.96 to $2.03 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Hercules Capital is 14.24, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 25.85.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Hercules Capital is 14.24, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Finance sector average P/E ratio of about 19.20.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Hercules Capital has a P/B Ratio of 1.55. P/B Ratios below 3 indicates that a company is reasonably valued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 4.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

3.14% of the float of Hercules Capital has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Hercules Capital has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 4.5.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Hercules Capital has recently decreased by 7.69%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 1.7 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Weak

Dividend Leadership

Hercules Capital is a leading dividend payer. It pays a dividend yield of 8.45%, putting its dividend yield in the top 25% of dividend-paying stocks.

Dividend Growth

Hercules Capital has only been increasing its dividend for 1 years.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of Hercules Capital is 120.30%. Payout ratios above 75% are not desirable because they may not be sustainable.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on EPS estimates, Hercules Capital will have a dividend payout ratio of 78.82% in the coming year. This indicates that Hercules Capital may not be able to sustain their current dividend.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: N/A
• Environmental Score: N/A

Percentage of Shares Shorted

3.14% of the float of Hercules Capital has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Hercules Capital has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 4.5.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Hercules Capital has recently decreased by 7.69%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

News and Social Media

• Score: 1.9 / 5
• News Sentiment: 0.50

News Sentiment

Hercules Capital has a news sentiment score of 0.50. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a lower news sentiment than the 0.94 average news sentiment score of Finance companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 4 news articles for Hercules Capital this week, compared to 6 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

19 people have searched for HTGC on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 138% compared to the previous 30 days.

MarketBeat Follows

Only 3 people have added Hercules Capital to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days. This is a decrease of -63% compared to the previous 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 1.7 / 5
• Insider Trading: Acquiring Shares

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Hercules Capital insiders have bought more of their company's stock than they have sold. Specifically, they have bought $111,965.00 in company stock and sold $0.00 in company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

Only 1.90% of the stock of Hercules Capital is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

Only 19.69% of the stock of Hercules Capital is held by institutions.

HTGC Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have HTGC shares performed this year?

Hercules Capital's stock was trading at $20.09 at the start of the year. Since then, HTGC stock has decreased by 5.7% and is now trading at $18.94.

How were Hercules Capital's earnings last quarter?

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May, 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year.
Read the conference call transcript.

Who are Hercules Capital's major shareholders?

Hercules Capital's top institutional shareholders include Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC (16.20%), Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC (0.33%), Confluence Investment Management LLC (0.22%) and Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC (0.05%). Insiders that own company stock include Scott Bluestein, Christian Follmann, Gayle A Crowell, Nikos Theodosopoulos, Wade Loo and Robert P Badavas.
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of Hercules Capital?

Shares of HTGC stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.

What other stocks do shareholders of Hercules Capital own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that Hercules Capital investors own include JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPQ), Symbotic (SYM), Voya Infrastructure, Industrials and Materials Fund (IDE), Chevron (CVX), Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY), Rithm Capital (RITM) and Comcast (CMCSA).

Company Calendar

• Last Earnings: 5/01/2025
• Record date for 5/20 Dividend: 5/13/2025
• Ex-Dividend for 5/20 Dividend: 5/13/2025
• Dividend Payable: 5/20/2025
• Today: 7/13/2025
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 7/30/2025
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2025

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NYSE
• Sector: Finance
• Industry: FIN - SBIC&COMMRL
• Sub-Industry: Real Estate
• Current Symbol: NYSE:HTGC
• CIK: 1280784
• Web: www.htgc.com
• Phone: (650) 289-3060
• Fax: 650-473-9194
• Employees: 100
• Year Founded: 2003

Price Target and Rating

• Average Price Target for Hercules Capital: $19.92
• High Price Target: $22.00
• Low Price Target: $18.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +5.2%
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.67
• Research Coverage: 6 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $1.33
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 14.24
• Forward P/E Ratio: 9.66
• P/E Growth: N/A
• Net Income: $262.97 million
• Net Margins: 45.23%
• Pretax Margin: 65.94%
• Return on Equity: 16.84%
• Return on Assets: 8.53%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 0.99
• Current Ratio: 2.38
• Quick Ratio: 2.38

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $493.59 million
• Price / Sales: 6.73
• Cash Flow: $2.05 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 9.23
• Book Value: $12.25 per share
• Price / Book: 1.55

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 175,430,000
• Free Float: 172,093,000
• Market Cap: $3.32 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 0.93