Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) Stock Price Up 4.1% – Here’s Why

Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB) shares shot up 4.1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $52.10 and last traded at $51.64. 24,760,536 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 19% from the average session volume of 20,730,117 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.61.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on RKLB shares. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Rocket Lab in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Rocket Lab from $20.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Rocket Lab from $50.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Craig Hallum assumed coverage on shares of Rocket Lab in a research report on Monday, July 28th. They set a “hold” rating and a $51.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target (up previously from $33.00) on shares of Rocket Lab in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.75.

Rocket Lab Stock Up 4.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 2.33. The stock has a market cap of $24.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -114.76 and a beta of 2.16. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.56.

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The rocket manufacturer reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $144.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $135.42 million. Rocket Lab had a negative net margin of 45.87% and a negative return on equity of 48.14%. The business’s revenue was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.08) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Rocket Lab Corporation will post -0.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Peter Beck sold 1,436,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.75, for a total value of $70,026,547.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,500,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $121,875,000. The trade was a 36.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Adam C. Spice sold 874,588 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.01, for a total transaction of $41,988,969.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 2,057,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $98,799,250.89. This represents a 29.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,406,361 shares of company stock valued at $267,483,973. 11.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Rocket Lab during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rocket Lab in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Rocket Lab by 352.5% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 543 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Rocket Lab during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Rocket Lab by 109.5% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 796 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the period. 71.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.