Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) Director Merline Saintil Sells 12,500 Shares of Stock

Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB) Director Merline Saintil sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $1,125,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 280,029 shares in the company, valued at $25,202,610. This represents a 4.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Merline Saintil also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, January 13th, Merline Saintil sold 96,000 shares of Rocket Lab stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.58, for a total value of $8,311,680.00.
• On Friday, December 19th, Merline Saintil sold 5,000 shares of Rocket Lab stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $325,000.00.
• On Wednesday, December 17th, Merline Saintil sold 5,000 shares of Rocket Lab stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.46, for a total value of $272,300.00.
• On Friday, December 12th, Merline Saintil sold 15,000 shares of Rocket Lab stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $975,000.00.
• On Thursday, December 4th, Merline Saintil sold 10,000 shares of Rocket Lab stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total transaction of $480,000.00.

Rocket Lab Stock Performance

Shares of Rocket Lab stock traded down $1.04 on Thursday, hitting $90.76. 24,655,734 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 28,782,193. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.41. Rocket Lab Corporation has a 1 year low of $14.71 and a 1 year high of $92.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 3.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.48 billion, a PE ratio of -238.84 and a beta of 2.16.

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The rocket manufacturer reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $155.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $152.45 million. Rocket Lab had a negative net margin of 35.64% and a negative return on equity of 27.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.10) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Rocket Lab Corporation will post -0.38 EPS for the current year.

Key Stories Impacting Rocket Lab

Here are the key news stories impacting Rocket Lab this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Large U.S. defense win and backlog boost — an $816M SDA contract and other wins doubled Rocket Lab’s backlog, underpinning bullish views on near-term revenue and helping push the stock to record highs. Rocket Lab (RKLB) Stock: Defense Contract Win Drives Shares to All-Time High
• Positive Sentiment: Street bullish thesis on 2026 revenue and defense-led growth — analysis projects ~\$900M revenue in 2026 as Space Systems backlog converts, sustained 30%+ growth from defense programs, and Electron supporting execution credibility. This underpins upside expectations if execution continues. Rocket Lab Enters A Different League
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and bullish coverage — firms like Cantor Fitzgerald and a Zacks upgrade to “strong-buy” have reinforced the narrative that RKLB is a leading SpaceX alternative with upside tied to Neutron commercialization and defense contracts. Rocket Lab: Premier Alternative To SpaceX in 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary and longer-term cautious views — several feature pieces (Fool, MarketBeat) lay out catalysts (Neutron, launch cadence, defense revenue) but note valuation and execution risks; these provide context rather than immediate catalyst. Is Rocket Lab Stock a Buy After Its Massive Run?
• Neutral Sentiment: Options and institutional flow interest — coverage notes heavy options activity and institutional buying that has amplified the move; these flows can increase volatility but aren’t a fundamental change. Check Out What Whales Are Doing With RKLB
• Negative Sentiment: KeyBanc downgrade to Sector Weight — an influential analyst cut RKLB from Overweight to Sector Weight citing stretched sentiment/valuation, prompting intraday weakness. Analyst downgrades can trigger short-term selling even amid bullish fundamentals. Rocket Lab Stock Gets A Rare Downgrade—Here’s Why
• Negative Sentiment: Insider/director share sale — Rocket Lab director Merline Saintil sold 96,000 shares (~\$8.3M at ~$86.58), reducing her stake by ~24.7%; large insider sales can be perceived negatively even when they’re routine or for diversification/liquidity reasons. Insider Sale: Merline Saintil
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and “Neutron euphoria” concerns — some analysts contend the rally has priced in best-case outcomes for Neutron and could leave the stock vulnerable to a meaningful pullback if milestones slip. Neutron Euphoria Has Pushed RKLB Into Sell Territory

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RKLB has been the subject of a number of research reports. KeyCorp lowered shares of Rocket Lab from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Rocket Lab from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Zacks Research raised Rocket Lab from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Rocket Lab in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Rocket Lab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rocket Lab presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rocket Lab

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its stake in Rocket Lab by 176.1% in the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 12,125,910 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $580,952,000 after purchasing an additional 7,734,788 shares during the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new position in Rocket Lab in the 2nd quarter valued at $192,918,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Rocket Lab in the second quarter worth $164,751,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Rocket Lab by 67.0% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,242,304 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $223,287,000 after purchasing an additional 2,504,054 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Rocket Lab by 5.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,809,723 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,003,104,000 after purchasing an additional 2,127,565 shares during the period. 71.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab is an aerospace company that provides launch services, spacecraft, and space systems for commercial and government customers. The company’s primary launch vehicle is Electron, a small-lift orbital rocket designed to deploy small satellites and rideshare payloads to low Earth orbit. Rocket Lab also develops and manufactures the Rutherford engine, noted for its electric-pump-fed design and additive-manufactured components, which powers Electron and supports the company’s propulsion capabilities.