Short Interest in Horizon Technology Finance Co. (NASDAQ:HRZN) Decreases By 5.8%

Horizon Technology Finance Co. (NASDAQ:HRZN) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 468,100 shares, a drop of 5.8% from the August 15th total of 496,800 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 265,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Horizon Technology Finance

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HRZN. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Horizon Technology Finance during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Horizon Technology Finance by 86.5% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,969 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,841 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC purchased a new position in shares of Horizon Technology Finance during the third quarter valued at approximately $52,000. AXS Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Horizon Technology Finance during the first quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA boosted its position in shares of Horizon Technology Finance by 508.0% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 5,472 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 4,572 shares during the last quarter. 5.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Horizon Technology Finance Stock Performance

Shares of HRZN traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $11.86. 102,673 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 261,887. Horizon Technology Finance has a 52 week low of $9.67 and a 52 week high of $13.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $380.71 million, a PE ratio of 20.62 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.04.

Horizon Technology Finance (NASDAQ:HRZN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 1st. The investment management company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.11. Horizon Technology Finance had a return on equity of 15.64% and a net margin of 15.09%. The company had revenue of $28.12 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.23 million. On average, analysts predict that Horizon Technology Finance will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Horizon Technology Finance Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 19th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. This is an increase from Horizon Technology Finance’s previous dividend of $0.10. This represents a yield of 10.86%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 18th. Horizon Technology Finance’s payout ratio is presently 227.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on HRZN shares. StockNews.com started coverage on Horizon Technology Finance in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. TheStreet lowered Horizon Technology Finance from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 16th. Compass Point lowered Horizon Technology Finance from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $11.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $12.00 price target on shares of Horizon Technology Finance in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.20.

Horizon Technology Finance Company Profile

Horizon Technology Finance Corporation is a business development company specializing in lending and and investing in development-stage investments. It focuses on making secured debt and venture lending investments to venture capital backed companies in the technology, life science, healthcare information and services, cleantech and sustainability industries.