Humacyte (NASDAQ:HUMA) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume on Analyst Upgrade

Humacyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:HUMA) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Monday after Benchmark raised their price target on the stock from $15.00 to $17.00. Benchmark currently has a buy rating on the stock. 4,531,517 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 65% from the previous session’s volume of 2,740,317 shares.The stock last traded at $4.41 and had previously closed at $4.64.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on HUMA. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $10.00 price objective on shares of Humacyte in a research note on Friday, October 18th. EF Hutton Acquisition Co. I upgraded Humacyte to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $13.00 price target on shares of Humacyte in a report on Friday, September 20th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 price objective (up previously from $12.00) on shares of Humacyte in a research report on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $6.00 target price on shares of Humacyte and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.71.

Insider Activity at Humacyte

In related news, Director Brady W. Dougan sold 427,459 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.34, for a total value of $1,855,172.06. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,992,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,646,378.02. This trade represents a 17.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura E. Niklason sold 261,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.40, for a total value of $1,150,023.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,730,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,615,889.60. This trade represents a 13.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,500,000 shares of company stock valued at $6,606,799 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 11.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Humacyte by 62.7% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 254,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,219,000 after purchasing an additional 97,931 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Humacyte during the second quarter valued at about $83,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Humacyte in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Humacyte by 87.8% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 110,919 shares of the company’s stock worth $532,000 after acquiring an additional 51,858 shares during the period. Finally, Endowment Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Humacyte by 3.1% during the second quarter. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. now owns 100,518 shares of the company’s stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 44.71% of the company’s stock.

Humacyte Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $4.81 and a 200-day moving average of $5.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $585.24 million, a P/E ratio of -3.47 and a beta of 1.38.

Humacyte Company Profile

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.