Short Interest in Blackrock Tcp Capital Corp. (NASDAQ:TCPC) Rises By 22.4%

Key Points

• Short interest in BlackRock TCP Capital (NASDAQ:TCPC) rose 22.4% in April to 5,844,754 shares (about 7.0% of the stock) with a days-to-cover of 4.9, indicating increased bearish betting.
• Analyst sentiment has turned negative—MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of Strong Sell and a $3.50 target after multiple downgrades and price-target cuts.
• Insider activity and institutional moves: COO Patrick Wolfe purchased 6,850 shares at $3.65 (raising his stake 74%), while several large investors also added or initiated positions in TCPC.

Blackrock Tcp Capital Corp. (NASDAQ:TCPC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 5,844,754 shares, an increase of 22.4% from the March 31st total of 4,774,069 shares. Approximately 7.0% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,189,854 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.9 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TCPC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Blackrock Tcp Capital from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Blackrock Tcp Capital from $5.50 to $3.50 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "underperform" rating and set a $3.50 price target (down from $7.00) on shares of Blackrock Tcp Capital in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Blackrock Tcp Capital from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackrock Tcp Capital has a consensus rating of "Strong Sell" and a consensus target price of $3.50.

Insider Activity at Blackrock Tcp Capital

In related news, COO Patrick Wolfe purchased 6,850 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $3.65 per share, for a total transaction of $25,002.50. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer owned 16,086 shares of the company's stock, valued at $58,713.90. This trade represents a 74.17% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Blackrock Tcp Capital

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in TCPC. Next Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Blackrock Tcp Capital by 111.6% in the 3rd quarter. Next Capital Management LLC now owns 2,401,416 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $14,889,000 after acquiring an additional 1,266,590 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Blackrock Tcp Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,045,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Blackrock Tcp Capital by 36.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,947,348 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $12,074,000 after acquiring an additional 524,139 shares during the last quarter. North Ground Capital purchased a new stake in Blackrock Tcp Capital during the third quarter worth $3,100,000. Finally, Alpine Global Management LLC purchased a new stake in Blackrock Tcp Capital during the third quarter worth $1,643,000.

Blackrock Tcp Capital Stock Up 2.4%

TCPC stock opened at $4.24 on Wednesday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $3.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.02. The company has a market capitalization of $357.14 million, a P/E ratio of -4.04 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 17.66 and a quick ratio of 17.66. Blackrock Tcp Capital has a 12 month low of $3.43 and a 12 month high of $8.06.

Blackrock Tcp Capital (NASDAQ:TCPC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 27th. The investment management company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $43.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $46.99 million. Blackrock Tcp Capital had a negative net margin of 44.07% and a positive return on equity of 15.06%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Blackrock Tcp Capital will post 0.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackrock Tcp Capital Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 16.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 17th. Blackrock Tcp Capital's dividend payout ratio is -64.76%.

Blackrock Tcp Capital Company Profile

BlackRock TCP Capital Corp is a publicly traded business development company (BDC) listed on the NASDAQ under the ticker TCPC. Externally managed by BlackRock, the firm provides customized financing solutions to U.S. middle-market companies, with a focus on sponsor-backed transactions. Its core strategy centers on delivering current income and capital appreciation through a diversified portfolio of debt and equity investments across a variety of sectors, including consumer products, healthcare, business services and industrials.

Since its initial public offering in 2013, BlackRock TCP Capital has partnered with private equity sponsors to underwrite and structure senior secured first-lien loans, second-lien loans, mezzanine debt and select equity co-investments.

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