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

Humacyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:HUMA) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors acquired 6,057 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 114% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,835 put options.

Humacyte Price Performance

HUMA traded up $0.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $1.19. 1,626,164 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,331,483. The company has a market cap of $187.67 million, a P/E ratio of -5.11 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.62. Humacyte has a 12-month low of $1.09 and a 12-month high of $6.77. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $1.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1.93.

Humacyte (NASDAQ:HUMA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.17) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $0.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.92 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Humacyte will post -1.27 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HUMA has been the topic of several recent research reports. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $6.00 price objective on shares of Humacyte in a research note on Friday. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Humacyte in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $3.50 price target on the stock. UBS Group set a $6.00 price objective on shares of Humacyte in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Benchmark decreased their price objective on shares of Humacyte from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, D. Boral Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Humacyte in a research note on Thursday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Humacyte presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $8.29.

Institutional Trading of Humacyte

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Humacyte by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,520,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,085,000 after purchasing an additional 520,431 shares during the last quarter. Heights Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Humacyte in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $6,863,000. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in Humacyte by 38.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 3,950,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,735,000 after buying an additional 1,101,198 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP grew its holdings in Humacyte by 141.1% during the 2nd quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 3,430,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,169,000 after purchasing an additional 2,007,743 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RA Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Humacyte in the first quarter worth approximately $5,648,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 44.71% of the company’s stock.

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.