Humacyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:HUMA) Short Interest Update

Humacyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:HUMA - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 29,620,000 shares, an increase of 34.9% from the December 15th total of 21,960,000 shares. Currently, 28.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 4,700,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.3 days.

Humacyte Price Performance

Humacyte stock traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $4.41. The company had a trading volume of 2,264,931 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,264,841. Humacyte has a fifty-two week low of $2.53 and a fifty-two week high of $9.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $555.04 million, a P/E ratio of -3.29 and a beta of 1.32. The firm's fifty day moving average is $4.58 and its 200-day moving average is $5.66.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Brady W. Dougan sold 427,459 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.34, for a total transaction of $1,855,172.06. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,992,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,646,378.02. This represents a 17.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura E. Niklason sold 811,172 shares of Humacyte stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.44, for a total transaction of $3,601,603.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,419,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,743,521.28. This trade represents a 25.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,500,000 shares of company stock valued at $6,606,799 over the last three months. Company insiders own 11.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Humacyte

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Humacyte by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 39,143 shares of the company's stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 7,069 shares during the last quarter. ACT Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Humacyte in the fourth quarter worth approximately $57,000. ARS Investment Partners LLC raised its position in Humacyte by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC now owns 99,419 shares of the company's stock valued at $502,000 after acquiring an additional 15,000 shares in the last quarter. Clarus Wealth Advisors acquired a new stake in Humacyte in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management bought a new stake in Humacyte in the fourth quarter worth approximately $56,000. 44.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Benchmark lifted their target price on Humacyte from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and set a $10.00 price objective on shares of Humacyte in a report on Friday, October 18th. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $10.00 target price on shares of Humacyte in a report on Friday, October 18th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $15.00 price target (up previously from $12.00) on shares of Humacyte in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $13.00 price objective on shares of Humacyte in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $13.71.

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.