Horizon Technology Finance Co. (NASDAQ:HRZN) Short Interest Update

Horizon Technology Finance Co. (NASDAQ:HRZN) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 478,400 shares, an increase of 23.7% from the February 13th total of 386,800 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 420,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.1 days. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Horizon Technology Finance

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HRZN. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in shares of Horizon Technology Finance by 44.6% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 49,897 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $449,000 after purchasing an additional 15,397 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Horizon Technology Finance during the fourth quarter worth about $220,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP increased its stake in Horizon Technology Finance by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 16,093 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $145,000 after acquiring an additional 2,108 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Horizon Technology Finance in the 4th quarter valued at about $173,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Horizon Technology Finance during the 4th quarter valued at about $447,000. 4.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Horizon Technology Finance Price Performance

NASDAQ:HRZN opened at $9.31 on Thursday. Horizon Technology Finance has a 1 year low of $8.46 and a 1 year high of $12.63. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $9.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.70. The company has a market cap of $375.33 million, a P/E ratio of -77.58 and a beta of 1.18.

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

Horizon Technology Finance Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 14.18%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 16th. Horizon Technology Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -1,100.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Compass Point raised shares of Horizon Technology Finance from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $8.25 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Maxim Group decreased their target price on Horizon Technology Finance from $15.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com lowered Horizon Technology Finance from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Horizon Technology Finance from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.