Overview
Hercules Capital, Inc., based in the United States, operates primarily in the financial sector, specializing as a venture capital firm. The company provides customized financial solutions to venture capital-backed companies in technology, life sciences, and sustainable and renewable technology industries, thus facilitating their growth and development stages. One of Hercules Capital's key projects is offering senior secured venture growth loans to high-growth companies, thereby enabling these companies to leverage Hercules Capital's financing for expansions, acquisitions, or operational costs without diluting equity. By strategically targeting vital market sectors with significant potential for innovation and growth, Hercules Capital plays a crucial role in the venture capital ecosystem, supporting the scaling of next-generation companies.
Basic Stats
The share price of Hercules Capital, Inc. as of September 5, 2025 is $19.24 / share. This is a decrease of -1.43% from the prior week. The market cap (or net worth) of Hercules Capital, Inc. as of September 5, 2025 is $3,452.83 MM.
The Factor Analysis chart (below right) shows a view of Hercules Capital, Inc. from a variety of lenses. Each factor shows how well the company ranks against all other companies in the Fintel global investing universe. Factor scores range from zero to 100, with 100 being most desirable, and 50 being average.
For example, a company with a Value Score of 100 would be the most undervalued company in our database. A company with a Value Score of zero would be the most overvalued.
| Market Cap | 3,452.83 MM |
| EV | 5,564.62 MM |
| Shares Out. | 179.46 MM |
| Earnings Date | |
| EPS (TTM) | 1.45 |
| Dividend Yield | 9.77 % |
| Ex-Dividend Date | 2025-08-12 |
| Borrow Rate | 0.50 |
| Short Shares Avail. | 1.90 MM |
| Short Interest | 5.25 MM |
| Short Float | 3.15 % |
| Days to Cover | 7.25 days |
| Risk Free Rate | 4.17 % |
| Price Change (1 yr) | 1.48 % |
| Volatility (1 yr) | 0.22 |
| Beta | 0.88 |
| Sharpe Ratio (1 yr) | -0.12 |
| Sortino Ratio (1 yr) | -0.19 |
| PE Ratio | 13.31 |
| Price/Book | 1.61 |
| Price/TBV | 1.61 |
| Book/Market | 0.62 |
| EBIT/EV | 0.05 |
| EBIT(3yr avg)/EV | 0.05 |
| ROA | 0.07 |
| ROE | 0.14 |
| ROIC | 0.06 |
| CROIC | 0.00 |
| OCROIC | -0.07 |
| Implied Volatility | 16.34 % |
| Put/Call OI Ratio | 0.73 |
Factor Scores range from 0 to 100, with 100 being most desirable. Larger circles are better. In situations where we have no data (e.g. no insider trades), we plot the score at 50 to avoid penalizing companies. However, a company that does not pay dividends will get a Dividend Score of Zero. Additionally, we inverted volatility to create a "stability" metric which is better when higher.
Price Target
The average one-year price target for Hercules Capital, Inc. is $21.64. The forecasts range from a low of $19.19 to a high of $26.25. A stock’s price target is the price at which analysts consider it fairly valued with respect to its projected earnings and historical earnings. Analysts typically set price targets that correspond to their buy or sell recommendations.
Update Frequency: Monthly
Stock Upgrades/Downgrades
This card shows analyst upgrades/downgrades for Hercules Capital, Inc.. An analyst rating is a classification that gives investors a sense of analyst sentiment about the direction and performance of an equity - usually a stock - over a period of time, typically 12 months.
The standard analyst ratings are generally as follows:
- Buy/Overweight/Outperform - Any of these ratings conveys an analyst’s belief that the stock is likely to outperform a market index (e.g. the S&P 500).
- Hold/Equal-Weight/Market Perform - Any of these ratings conveys an analyst’s belief that the stock is likely to perform in line with a market index.
- Sell/Underweight/Underperform - Any of these ratings suggest that an analyst believes the stock is likely to underperform a market index.
When an analyst upgrades a stock, they are signaling that the company’s fundamentals are being undervalued by investors. It could also mean they believe the market is underestimating the company’s potential. The opposite is true when a stock receives a downgrade.
The average rating of each individual analyst’s rating is the consensus rating for a stock. This gives investors a broader sense of the overall sentiment for that stock.
| Date | Analyst | Prior | Latest Recommendation |
Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-11-03 | RBC Capital | Outperform | Maintains | |
| 2022-10-24 | Wells Fargo | Overweight | Maintains | |
| 2022-10-03 | Piper Sandler | Neutral | Maintains | |
| 2022-08-01 | JMP Securities | Market Outperform | Maintains | |
| 2022-07-29 | Oppenheimer | Outperform | Perform | Downgrade |
| 2022-06-28 | Piper Sandler | Neutral | Maintains | |
| 2022-04-25 | Wells Fargo | Overweight | Maintains | |
| 2022-04-22 | Keefe, Bruyette & Woods | Outperform | Market Perform | Downgrade |
| 2022-04-04 | Piper Sandler | Overweight | Neutral | Downgrade |
| 2022-02-08 | Compass Point | Buy | Neutral | Downgrade |
| 2021-04-28 | Oppenheimer | Outperform | Initiate | |
| 2021-03-25 | RBC Capital | Outperform | Initiate | |
| 2020-10-09 | Piper Sandler | Overweight | Maintains | |
| 2020-09-09 | JMP Securities | Market Outperform | Maintains | |
| 2020-07-31 | Compass Point | Neutral | Buy | Upgrade |
| 2020-06-19 | Janney Capital | Neutral | Buy | Upgrade |
| 2020-05-13 | Wedbush | Outperform | Maintains | |
| 2020-05-05 | JMP Securities | Market Outperform | Maintains | |
| 2020-05-05 | B. Riley FBR | Buy | Maintains | |
| 2020-04-27 | Wells Fargo | Overweight | Maintains | |
| 2020-04-06 | Piper Sandler | Overweight | Maintains | |
| 2020-03-25 | Wells Fargo | Overweight | Maintains | |
| 2020-03-24 | B. Riley FBR | Buy | Maintains | |
| 2020-02-26 | JMP Securities | Market Outperform | Maintains | |
| 2020-02-21 | B. Riley FBR | Buy | Maintains | |
| 2019-11-04 | Wells Fargo | Market Perform | Outperform | Upgrade |
| 2019-05-06 | Wells Fargo | Outperform | Market Perform | Downgrade |
| 2019-05-03 | B. Riley | Neutral | Buy | Upgrade |
| 2019-03-13 | Keefe Bruyette & Woods | Outperform | Market Perform | Downgrade |
| 2019-03-13 | Compass Point | Buy | Neutral | Downgrade |
| 2019-03-13 | B. Riley FBR | Buy | Neutral | Downgrade |
| 2018-11-05 | Wells Fargo | Outperform | Outperform | Maintains |
| 2018-08-16 | JMP Securities | Market Outperform | Market Outperform | Maintains |
| 2018-08-06 | Wedbush | Outperform | Outperform | Maintains |
| 2018-02-07 | Wedbush | Neutral | Outperform | Upgrade |
| 2017-11-20 | Ladenburg Thalmann | Buy | Initiate | |
| 2017-11-03 | Raymond James | Underperform | Market Perform | Upgrade |
| 2017-10-25 | Wedbush | Neutral | Initiate | |
| 2017-08-04 | Raymond James | Market Perform | Underperform | Downgrade |
| 2017-05-08 | Wunderlich | Buy | Hold | Downgrade |
| 2017-02-24 | Raymond James | Outperform | Market Perform | Downgrade |
| 2016-08-05 | Jefferies | Buy | Maintains | |
| 2016-07-25 | Macquarie | Outperform | Neutral | Downgrade |
| 2016-01-27 | Compass Point | Buy | Neutral | Downgrade |
| 2015-08-07 | Keefe Bruyette & Woods | Market Perform | Outperform | Upgrade |
| 2015-07-01 | Jefferies | Buy | Initiate | |
| 2015-06-30 | Jefferies | Buy | Initiate | |
| 2015-06-23 | Compass Point | Buy | Initiate | |
| 2015-05-26 | Macquarie | Neutral | Outperform | Upgrade |
| 2015-05-11 | Keefe Bruyette & Woods | Market Perform | Maintains | |
| 2015-05-11 | JMP Securities | Market Outperform | Maintains | |
| 2015-04-06 | Raymond James | Market Perform | Outperform | Upgrade |
| 2015-03-18 | JMP Securities | Market Outperform | Maintains | |
| 2015-03-04 | Wunderlich | Buy | Maintains | |
| 2015-03-04 | Keefe Bruyette & Woods | Market Perform | Maintains | |
| 2015-03-04 | JMP Securities | Market Outperform | Maintains | |
| 2015-03-03 | BB&T Capital | Buy | Hold | Downgrade |
| 2014-11-17 | Wunderlich | Buy | Maintains | |
| 2014-08-18 | Wunderlich | Buy | Maintains | |
| 2014-08-08 | Sandler O'Neill | Buy | Hold | Downgrade |
| 2014-06-24 | Wells Fargo | Market Perform | Outperform | Upgrade |
| 2014-05-22 | MLV & Co. | Hold | Initiate | |
| 2014-04-07 | Sandler O'Neill | Upgrade | ||
| 2014-03-12 | Keefe Bruyette & Woods | Market Perform | Outperform | Upgrade |
| 2014-01-15 | Wunderlich | Buy | Upgrade | |
| 2013-12-16 | Raymond James | Outperform | Market Perform | Downgrade |
| 2013-11-14 | Wunderlich | Buy | Hold | Downgrade |
| 2013-11-08 | National Securities | Neutral | Buy | Upgrade |
| 2013-10-21 | National Securities | Neutral | Initiate | |
| 2013-09-10 | Wells Fargo | Outperform | Market Perform | Downgrade |
| 2013-09-09 | Keefe Bruyette & Woods | Outperform | Market Perform | Downgrade |
| 2013-08-19 | Sandler O'Neill | Buy | Hold | Downgrade |
| 2013-07-02 | Janney Capital | Buy | Neutral | Downgrade |
| 2013-06-05 | Wunderlich | Buy | Initiate | |
| 2013-03-11 | Sterne Agee | Neutral | Maintains | |
| 2013-01-07 | Stifel Nicolaus | Hold | Buy | Upgrade |
| 2012-10-23 | Credit Suisse | Neutral | Underperform | Downgrade |
| 2012-07-30 | Stifel Nicolaus | Buy | Hold | Downgrade |
| 2023-02-21 | JMP Securities | Market Outperform | Maintains | |
| 2023-02-17 | RBC Capital | Outperform | Maintains | |
| 2023-02-17 | Keefe, Bruyette & Woods | Market Perform | Maintains | |
| 2023-03-13 | Keefe, Bruyette & Woods | Market Perform | Underperform | Downgrade |
| 2023-03-13 | JMP Securities | Market Outperform | Reiterate | |
| 2023-04-06 | Piper Sandler | Neutral | Overweight | Upgrade |
| 2023-05-05 | Wells Fargo | Overweight | Maintains | |
| 2023-05-05 | Keefe, Bruyette & Woods | Underperform | Maintains | |
| 2023-05-08 | JMP Securities | Market Outperform | Maintains | |
| 2023-08-04 | Oppenheimer | Perform | Perform | Maintains |
| 2023-08-04 | Keefe, Bruyette & Woods | Underperform | Market Perform | Upgrade |
| 2023-08-30 | Compass Point | Neutral | Buy | Upgrade |
| 2023-12-20 | Piper Sandler | Overweight | Overweight | Maintains |
| 2023-08-11 | JMP Securities | Outperform | Outperform | Maintains |
| 2023-11-03 | Piper Sandler | Overweight | Overweight | Maintains |
| 2024-02-16 | Piper Sandler | Overweight | Overweight | Maintains |
| 2024-02-16 | Keefe, Bruyette & Woods | Market Perform | Market Perform | Maintains |
| 2023-11-21 | UBS | Neutral | Initiate | |
| 2024-05-03 | Wells Fargo | Overweight | Overweight | Maintains |
| 2024-05-03 | JMP Securities | Market Outperform | Market Outperform | Maintains |
| 2024-05-03 | Piper Sandler | Overweight | Overweight | Maintains |
| 2024-05-03 | Keefe, Bruyette & Woods | Market Perform | Market Perform | Maintains |
| 2024-04-10 | Piper Sandler | Overweight | Overweight | Maintains |
| 2024-03-26 | JMP Securities | Market Outperform | Market Outperform | Maintains |
| 2024-01-29 | Wells Fargo | Overweight | Overweight | Maintains |
| 2024-01-16 | Compass Point | Buy | Neutral | Downgrade |
| 2024-07-10 | Piper Sandler | Overweight | Overweight | Maintains |
| 2024-12-12 | Keefe, Bruyette & Woods | Market Perform | Outperform | Upgrade |
| 2024-07-26 | Wells Fargo | Overweight | Overweight | Maintains |
| 2024-08-02 | Piper Sandler | Overweight | Overweight | Maintains |
| 2024-10-29 | Wells Fargo | Overweight | Overweight | Maintains |
| 2025-08-01 | Piper Sandler | Overweight | Overweight | Maintains |
| 2024-07-30 | JMP Securities | Market Outperform | Market Outperform | Maintains |
| 2025-02-14 | JMP Securities | Market Outperform | Market Outperform | Reiterate |
| 2025-01-06 | JMP Securities | Market Outperform | Market Outperform | Reiterate |
| 2024-12-06 | JMP Securities | Market Outperform | Market Outperform | Reiterate |
| 2025-07-16 | UBS | Neutral | Neutral | Maintains |
| 2025-04-08 | Keefe, Bruyette & Woods | Outperform | Outperform | Maintains |
| 2025-04-08 | Piper Sandler | Overweight | Overweight | Maintains |
| 2025-02-19 | Compass Point | Neutral | Neutral | Maintains |
| 2025-04-17 | UBS | Neutral | Neutral | Maintains |
| 2025-04-28 | Wells Fargo | Overweight | Overweight | Maintains |
| 2025-08-04 | JMP Securities | Market Outperform | Market Outperform | Maintains |
