H.C. Wainwright
H.C. Wainwright & Co. is a New York-based investment bank focused on capital raising for growth companies, notably through PIPEs and registered direct offerings. Its equity research centers on life sciences, with further coverage of metals and mining, technology and digital-asset companies.
Activity24M
RatingsPrice targetsKey figures
- Stocks covered
- 60712M
- Actions
- 2,43312M
- Ratings / Price targets
- 1,714 / 719
- Upgrades / Downgrades
- 28 / 58
- Initiations
- 26
- Buy-rated
- 90%of 591 rated
- Median upside
- +67.0%
- Targets raised / lowered
- 358 / 158
- On record
- Aug 2013 – Sep 2026
Overview
H.C. Wainwright rated 636 companies as of August 2026, about 84% of them Buy, with most coverage in healthcare. David Lenchus, formerly director of equity research at Chardan and BTIG, has led the department since August 2024. Its corporate access team works with investment banking, capital markets and research to arrange roadshows, conferences and one-on-one investor meetings. Research disclosures state that analysts' compensation is not tied to specific deals but does reflect factors including firm revenue and profitability, much of which comes from investment banking.
H.C. Wainwright & Co. was founded in Boston in 1868 and pioneered company research in the 1930s. Its economics research arm became independent as Wainwright Economics in 1978. In 2013 former senior members of the Rodman & Renshaw team joined the firm, which PlacementTracker ranked the top placement agent by transaction volume for 40 consecutive quarters as of 2025. Mark E. Kaplan succeeded Mark Viklund as chief executive in July 2025.
Milestones
- 1868
Founded in Boston at the Union Bank Building
- 1978
Economics research unit spun off as Wainwright Economics
- 2013
Former Rodman & Renshaw senior team joins the firm
- 2024
David Lenchus appointed Director of Research
- 2025
Mark E. Kaplan succeeds Mark Viklund as CEO
Firm facts
- Legal name
- H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC
- Type
- Boutique
- Founded
- 1868
- Headquarters
- New York, United States
- Chief Executive Officer
- Mark E. Kaplan
- Director of Research
- David Lenchus
- Rating scale
- BuyNeutralSell
- Also filed as
- HC Wainwright & Co. · HC Wainwright& Co.
- Website
- hcwco.com
Research philosophy
Our ratings and price targets are based on bottom-up fundamental analysis, and take into consideration technical market factors and over-riding economic conditions.
As of 2026, H.C. Wainwright says its analysts present their investment theses with their expectations for both performance and risk.
Rating methodology
Ratings are Buy (Market Outperform), Neutral (Market Perform) and Sell (Market Underperform), each measured against a passive index of all stocks in the same sector.
Coverage12M
Sectors
Most covered24M
| Stock | Rating | Target |
|---|---|---|
 BridgeBio Pharma, Inc.BBIO | Buy | $120 |
 Cytokinetics, IncorporatedCYTK | Buy | $140 |
 Corcept Therapeutics IncorporatedCORT | Buy | $165 |
 Axsome Therapeutics, Inc.AXSM | Buy | $290 |
 Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc.HALO | Buy | $115 |
 Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.IONS | Buy | $115 |
 Alumis Inc. Common StockALMS | Buy | $15 |
 Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc.ALNY | Buy | $455 |
 Legend Biotech CorporationLEGN | Buy | $65 |
 Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc.SRPT | Sell | $10 |
Most active analysts
- Raghuram Selvaraju47 notesBWAYBCPCAXSM
- Andrew Fein46 notesUTHRAMLXDBVT
- Yi Chen38 notesTEMRGNXLFMD
- Swayampakula Ramakanth37 notesCORTCELCBSEM
- Robert Burns33 notesEXELRVMDCOGT
- Heiko Ihle33 notesEXKDRDAG
Recent actions
| Date | Stock | Rating action | Rating | Target | Analyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 22 | ELElemental Royalty Corporation Common StockELE | Target | $33 →$31 | ||
| Sep 22 |  Anixa Biosciences, Inc.ANIX | Reiterate | Buy | $7 →$6 | Yi Chen |
| Sep 22 | CLCelldex Therapeutics, Inc.CLDX | Reiterate | Buy | $80 →$64 | Joseph Pantginis |
| Sep 22 |  Viking Therapeutics, Inc.VKTX | Reiterate | Buy | ||
| Sep 22 | BEHeartBeam, Inc.BEAT | Downgrade | Buy →Neutral | ||
| Sep 22 |  Vertex Pharmaceuticals IncorporatedVRTX | Reiterate | Buy | $591 →$641 | Andrew Fein |
| Sep 22 | ANAnaptysBio, Inc.ANAB | Reiterate | Buy | $66 →$95 | Joseph Pantginis |
| Sep 22 | ARArmata Pharmaceuticals, Inc.ARMP | Reiterate | Neutral |