Humacyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:HUMA) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Humacyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:HUMA) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 20,330,000 shares, an increase of 6.2% from the November 15th total of 19,140,000 shares. Currently, 19.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 3,040,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.7 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HUMA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price objective on shares of Humacyte in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $10.00 price target on shares of Humacyte in a research report on Friday, October 18th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $12.00 price objective on shares of Humacyte in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. 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. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $10.00 price target on shares of Humacyte in a research note on Friday, October 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Humacyte has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.00.

Humacyte Stock Performance

HUMA opened at $4.26 on Tuesday. Humacyte has a 12-month low of $2.48 and a 12-month high of $9.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $536.16 million, a P/E ratio of -3.24 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $4.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Humacyte news, CEO Laura E. Niklason sold 811,172 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 2,419,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,743,521.28. This trade represents a 25.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Brady W. Dougan sold 427,459 shares of Humacyte stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.34, for a total value of $1,855,172.06. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,992,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,646,378.02. The trade was a 17.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,500,000 shares of company stock worth $6,606,799 over the last quarter. 11.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Humacyte

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HUMA. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Humacyte by 3.1% during the second quarter. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. now owns 100,518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $482,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Humacyte during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Humacyte by 1.8% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 373,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,030,000 after purchasing an additional 6,510 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Humacyte by 32.5% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 34,919 shares of the company’s stock worth $168,000 after purchasing an additional 8,557 shares during the period. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Humacyte by 64.1% in the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 22,955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,000 after buying an additional 8,965 shares in the last quarter. 44.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.