Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY) was the target of a large growth in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,130,000 shares, a growth of 52.2% from the July 31st total of 742,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 290,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.9 days. Approximately 3.0% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RWAY has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Runway Growth Finance from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Runway Growth Finance in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $12.00 price objective for the company. B. Riley cut their price target on Runway Growth Finance from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Runway Growth Finance from $12.50 to $11.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Compass Point raised shares of Runway Growth Finance from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $12.75 to $11.25 in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.96.

Insider Activity

In other Runway Growth Finance news, CEO R David Spreng purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $10.17 per share, with a total value of $50,850.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 69,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $707,140.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Runway Growth Finance news, Director Ocm Growth Holdings Llc sold 400,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.90, for a total value of $4,760,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,779,668 shares in the company, valued at $128,278,049.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO R David Spreng bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $10.17 per share, for a total transaction of $50,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 69,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $707,140.44. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Runway Growth Finance

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of RWAY. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 267,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,238,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC increased its position in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 14.9% in the second quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 19,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $229,000 after acquiring an additional 2,525 shares in the last quarter. Greenwich Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Greenwich Investment Management Inc. now owns 118,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,495,000 after acquiring an additional 3,265 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 33.9% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,000 after acquiring an additional 3,376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Runway Growth Finance during the 2nd quarter worth $53,000. 64.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Runway Growth Finance Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of RWAY stock opened at $10.54 on Thursday. Runway Growth Finance has a twelve month low of $9.87 and a twelve month high of $13.74. The company has a market capitalization of $406.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.58 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $11.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08.

Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $34.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.62 million. Runway Growth Finance had a net margin of 19.32% and a return on equity of 13.67%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Runway Growth Finance will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Runway Growth Finance Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 17.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Runway Growth Finance’s dividend payout ratio is currently 145.45%.

Runway Growth Finance Company Profile

Runway Growth Finance Corp. is a business development company specializing investments in senior-secured loans to late stage and growth companies. It prefers to make investments in companies engaged in the technology, life sciences, healthcare and information services, business services and select consumer services and products sectors.