Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT) Cut to Sell at The Goldman Sachs Group

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT) was downgraded by stock analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

RCKT has been the topic of a number of other reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $7.00 price target on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Leerink Partners reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $8.00 price target (down from $37.00) on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $20.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.21.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 5.3%

NASDAQ RCKT opened at $2.48 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $6.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.41. Rocket Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $2.19 and a 12 month high of $26.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 6.05 and a quick ratio of 6.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $264.83 million, a P/E ratio of -0.90 and a beta of 1.02.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 13th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.58) by $0.02. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.66) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Rocket Pharmaceuticals will post -2.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Kinnari Patel purchased 21,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $4.70 per share, for a total transaction of $99,165.30. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 26,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $125,837.80. This trade represents a 371.79% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gaurav Shah purchased 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $5.08 per share, for a total transaction of $101,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 792,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,026,814.40. The trade was a 2.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 24.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rocket Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 99,339 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,249,000 after acquiring an additional 1,242 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 32,422 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 1,280 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 19,826 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 1,528 shares during the period. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 40.4% in the fourth quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC now owns 5,656 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 1,628 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 16.1% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,929 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 1,658 shares during the period. 98.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a late-stage biotechnology company that focuses on developing gene therapies for rare and devastating diseases. It has three clinical-stage ex vivo lentiviral vector programs for fanconi anemia, a genetic defect in the bone marrow that reduces production of blood cells or promotes the production of faulty blood cells; leukocyte adhesion deficiency-I, a genetic disorder that causes the immune system to malfunction; and pyruvate kinase deficiency, a rare red blood cell autosomal recessive disorder that results in chronic non-spherocytic hemolytic anemia.