Humacyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:HUMA) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Humacyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:HUMA - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 30,350,000 shares, an increase of 20.7% from the April 30th total of 25,150,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,450,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.8 days. Approximately 24.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on HUMA shares. D. Boral Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Humacyte in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Benchmark dropped their price objective on Humacyte from $17.00 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen raised Humacyte from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, HC Wainwright initiated coverage on Humacyte in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "buy" rating and a $4.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $11.71.

Humacyte Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of Humacyte stock traded down $0.03 on Friday, reaching $2.59. 6,627,428 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,812,784. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $1.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $3.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $401.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.93 and a beta of 2.00. Humacyte has a fifty-two week low of $1.15 and a fifty-two week high of $9.79.

Humacyte (NASDAQ:HUMA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 13th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.19) by $0.09. The business had revenue of $0.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $0.46 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Humacyte will post -1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Dale A. Sander purchased 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $1.53 per share, with a total value of $30,600.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 40,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,118. This trade represents a 97.09% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kathleen Sebelius bought 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $1.32 per share, for a total transaction of $66,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 91,207 shares in the company, valued at $120,393.24. This represents a 121.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 83,993 shares of company stock valued at $118,224. Insiders own 5.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HUMA. Heights Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Humacyte during the first quarter valued at $6,863,000. RA Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Humacyte during the first quarter valued at $5,648,000. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Humacyte by 235.7% during the fourth quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 2,848,802 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,386,000 after buying an additional 2,000,268 shares in the last quarter. Monashee Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Humacyte during the first quarter valued at $3,410,000. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Humacyte during the fourth quarter valued at $6,463,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.