Horizon Technology Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:HRZN) Given Consensus Rating of "Reduce" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts: "Reduce" — Eight brokerages give HRZN an average recommendation of "Reduce" (3 sell, 4 hold, 1 buy) with a one‑year average price target of about $6.17 and several recent downgrades/target cuts from Oppenheimer, B. Riley, Zacks and others.
• Weak recent results and valuation — The company missed Q4 EPS ($0.18 vs. $0.30) and reported just $0.58M of revenue versus $25.64M expected; the stock trades near $4.17 (1‑yr range $3.97–$9.52) with a negative P/E of -26.06 and market cap around $199M.
• High yield but questionable sustainability — Horizon declared a monthly $0.06 dividend (implied ~17.3% yield) despite a negative payout ratio (-450%) and relatively low institutional ownership (~4.94%), a potential red flag on dividend sustainability.

Horizon Technology Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:HRZN - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Reduce" by the eight research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $6.1667.

HRZN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Horizon Technology Finance from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Horizon Technology Finance from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Horizon Technology Finance from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Horizon Technology Finance in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, B. Riley Financial dropped their target price on shares of Horizon Technology Finance from $7.00 to $5.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 6th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HRZN. Green Alpha Advisors LLC increased its stake in Horizon Technology Finance by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 558,944 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $3,605,000 after buying an additional 58,915 shares during the period. Eagle Point Credit Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Horizon Technology Finance during the fourth quarter worth $2,385,000. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Horizon Technology Finance during the third quarter worth $1,099,000. UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of Horizon Technology Finance by 40.3% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 106,964 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $652,000 after acquiring an additional 30,716 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Horizon Technology Finance in the third quarter valued at $435,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 4.94% of the company's stock.

Horizon Technology Finance Stock Performance

HRZN opened at $4.17 on Thursday. Horizon Technology Finance has a one year low of $3.97 and a one year high of $9.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $199.37 million, a PE ratio of -26.06 and a beta of 1.10. The business's 50 day moving average price is $5.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.13.

Horizon Technology Finance (NASDAQ:HRZN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The investment management company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.12). Horizon Technology Finance had a positive return on equity of 14.52% and a negative net margin of 2.77%.The business had revenue of $0.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.64 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Horizon Technology Finance will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Horizon Technology Finance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 17.3%. Horizon Technology Finance's dividend payout ratio is -450.00%.

About Horizon Technology Finance

Horizon Technology Finance Corporation is a specialty finance company organized as a business development company (BDC) that provides private credit solutions to venture capital and private equity-backed technology, life science and healthcare companies. The firm targets companies at various stages of development, offering secured debt financing structures such as first‐lien and second‐lien loans, as well as equity co‐investment opportunities in select portfolio companies.

Horizon Technology Finance's investment strategy emphasizes deployment of capital in U.S.‐based enterprises with proven technology, strong management teams and clear paths to growth.

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