Horizon Technology Finance Co. (NASDAQ:HRZN) Short Interest Up 27.9% in March

Horizon Technology Finance Co. (NASDAQ:HRZN) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 612,000 shares, an increase of 27.9% from the February 28th total of 478,400 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 370,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Horizon Technology Finance Stock Performance

Shares of HRZN opened at $9.42 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.59. The stock has a market cap of $379.77 million, a PE ratio of -78.50 and a beta of 1.18. Horizon Technology Finance has a 1 year low of $8.46 and a 1 year high of $12.63.

Horizon Technology Finance (NASDAQ:HRZN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The investment management company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $23.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.69 million. Horizon Technology Finance had a negative net margin of 3.69% and a positive return on equity of 15.78%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Horizon Technology Finance will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Horizon Technology Finance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 16th will be given a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 16th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.01%. Horizon Technology Finance’s payout ratio is -1,100.00%.

Institutional Trading of Horizon Technology Finance

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HRZN. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP lifted its position in Horizon Technology Finance by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 16,093 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $145,000 after buying an additional 2,108 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division raised its holdings in Horizon Technology Finance by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 45,725 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $411,000 after purchasing an additional 2,173 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its position in Horizon Technology Finance by 43.0% during the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 13,290 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 3,996 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Horizon Technology Finance by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 26,344 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 6,416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Horizon Technology Finance during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $117,000. Institutional investors own 4.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HRZN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Horizon Technology Finance from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Compass Point upgraded Horizon Technology Finance from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $8.25 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of Horizon Technology Finance from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Maxim Group cut their target price on Horizon Technology Finance from $15.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.56.

About Horizon Technology Finance

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.