Wall Street Zen Downgrades Hamilton Lane (NASDAQ:HLNE) to Sell

Hamilton Lane (NASDAQ:HLNE) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on HLNE. Zacks Research lowered shares of Hamilton Lane from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Hamilton Lane from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Hamilton Lane from $161.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Hamilton Lane from $153.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Hamilton Lane from $169.00 to $154.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $157.71.

Hamilton Lane Stock Performance

Shares of HLNE opened at $113.96 on Friday. Hamilton Lane has a one year low of $112.59 and a one year high of $203.72. The company has a 50-day moving average of $135.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $146.57. The stock has a market cap of $6.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.92 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 4.32 and a quick ratio of 4.32.

Hamilton Lane (NASDAQ:HLNE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.33. Hamilton Lane had a net margin of 30.66% and a return on equity of 29.47%. The company had revenue of $196.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $166.96 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.47 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Hamilton Lane will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder River 5 Ltd French sold 150,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.51, for a total transaction of $21,976,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 330,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,350,497.65. This trade represents a 31.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 22.21% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hamilton Lane

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLNE. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Hamilton Lane by 65.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Hamilton Lane by 6.6% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $508,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Hamilton Lane by 12.5% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 9,773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,437,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in Hamilton Lane by 11.3% in the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 7,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,172,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its stake in Hamilton Lane by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 8,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,319,000 after buying an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.40% of the company’s stock.

About Hamilton Lane

Hamilton Lane Incorporated is a private equity firm specializing in early venture, emerging growth, turnaround, middle market, mature, mid-venture, bridge, buyout, distressed/vulture, loan, mezzanine in growth capital companies. It prefers to invest in energy, industrials, consumer discretionary, health care, real estate, information technology, utilities, and consumer services.