Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on Humacyte (NASDAQ:HUMA)

Key Points

• Humacyte, Inc. saw a significant increase in trading activity, with investors purchasing **8,528 call options**, a rise of **355%** compared to typical volumes.
• Insiders, including Director Brady W. Dougan and CEO Laura E. Niklason, both sold **591,685 shares** at an average price of **$1.58**, totaling approximately **$934,862** each.
• Despite the trading activity, Humacyte's stock price fell **33.9%** to **$1.64**, and the company reported an **EPS** of **($0.24)**, missing estimates by **$0.09** in its latest earnings report.

Humacyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:HUMA - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 8,528 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 355% compared to the typical volume of 1,874 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Brady W. Dougan sold 591,685 shares of Humacyte stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.58, for a total value of $934,862.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura E. Niklason sold 591,685 shares of Humacyte stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.58, for a total transaction of $934,862.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,482,090 shares of company stock valued at $7,466,382. Insiders own 5.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Humacyte

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HUMA. Columbia Advisory Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Humacyte in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Lazari Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Humacyte in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Prudential Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Humacyte in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Financial Advisors Network Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Humacyte in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Humacyte in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. 44.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on HUMA shares. HC Wainwright dropped their price target on shares of Humacyte from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. D. Boral Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Humacyte in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Humacyte in a report on Saturday, September 27th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Humacyte from $5.00 to $3.50 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Humacyte from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, August 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $9.29.

Humacyte Trading Down 33.9%

HUMA stock traded down $0.84 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $1.64. 36,047,126 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,132,252. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. Humacyte has a 52-week low of $1.15 and a 52-week high of $6.77. The company has a market cap of $259.73 million, a P/E ratio of -3.64 and a beta of 1.89. The stock's fifty day moving average is $1.78 and its 200-day moving average is $1.95.

Humacyte (NASDAQ:HUMA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.24) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.15) by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $0.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.94 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Humacyte will post -1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

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.

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