Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) Trading Up 2.8% on Analyst Upgrade

Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB)’s stock price was up 2.8% on Wednesday after KeyCorp raised their price target on the stock from $29.00 to $40.00. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Rocket Lab traded as high as $35.72 and last traded at $35.29. Approximately 5,485,667 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 17,937,410 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.33.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Rocket Lab from $29.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Roth Capital upped their target price on Rocket Lab from $25.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Rocket Lab in a research report on Monday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $27.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Rocket Lab from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on Rocket Lab from $29.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Merline Saintil sold 6,353 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 419,569 shares in the company, valued at $14,005,213.22. This represents a 1.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Arjun Kampani sold 5,194 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $155,820.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 530,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,906,900. The trade was a 0.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,130,995 shares of company stock worth $29,686,039 in the last 90 days. 13.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rocket Lab

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RKLB. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Rocket Lab by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,121,024 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $28,552,000 after acquiring an additional 28,618 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Rocket Lab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,564,000. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Rocket Lab by 1,937.6% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,315 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $186,000 after acquiring an additional 6,956 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Rocket Lab by 1,565.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,015 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 1,894 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in Rocket Lab by 450.4% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 10,238 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $261,000 after acquiring an additional 8,378 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.78% of the company’s stock.

Rocket Lab Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market cap of $16.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -89.00 and a beta of 2.15.

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $122.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $120.74 million. Rocket Lab had a negative net margin of 44.32% and a negative return on equity of 48.92%. The company’s revenue was up 32.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.09) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Rocket Lab Corporation will post -0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Rocket Lab Company Profile

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.