Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Reduces Stake in Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its position in Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB) by 9.8% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 938,522 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock after selling 101,469 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Rocket Lab were worth $16,781,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of RKLB. Sandy Spring Bank acquired a new stake in Rocket Lab during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Rocket Lab by 118.1% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,588 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 860 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB acquired a new stake in Rocket Lab during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Rocket Lab by 181.1% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,903 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,226 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Rocket Lab during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 71.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rocket Lab Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ RKLB opened at $35.60 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $16.15 billion, a PE ratio of -89.00 and a beta of 2.15. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $27.00 and a 200 day moving average of $24.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 2.08. Rocket Lab Corporation has a one year low of $4.20 and a one year high of $38.26.

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The rocket manufacturer reported ($0.12) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $122.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $120.74 million. Rocket Lab had a negative return on equity of 48.92% and a negative net margin of 44.32%. Rocket Lab’s revenue was up 32.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.09) EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Rocket Lab Corporation will post -0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on RKLB. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Rocket Lab from $29.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Rocket Lab in a report on Monday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of Rocket Lab from $29.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Rocket Lab from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Rocket Lab from $21.00 to $18.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Rocket Lab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rocket Lab

In other Rocket Lab news, Director Matthew Ocko sold 820,000 shares of Rocket Lab stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.01, for a total transaction of $21,328,200.00. Following the sale, the director owned 1,083,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,170,208.53. The trade was a 43.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Merline Saintil sold 6,353 shares of Rocket Lab stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.38, for a total transaction of $212,063.14. Following the sale, the director directly owned 419,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,005,213.22. This trade represents a 1.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,130,995 shares of company stock worth $29,686,039. Company insiders own 13.70% of the company’s stock.

About Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab USA, Inc, a space company, provides launch services and space systems solutions for the space and defense industries. The company provides launch services, spacecraft design services, spacecraft components, spacecraft manufacturing, and other spacecraft and on-orbit management solutions; and constellation management services, as well as designs and manufactures small and medium-class rockets.