Vanguard Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Planet Labs PBC $PL

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) by 9.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 18,551,697 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,637,880 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.06% of Planet Labs PBC worth $240,801,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Planet Labs PBC by 194.4% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 30,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $393,000 after purchasing an additional 20,005 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Planet Labs PBC in the 3rd quarter valued at $113,000. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 314,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,079,000 after buying an additional 6,538 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC during the 3rd quarter worth $157,000. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 74.1% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,002,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,988,000 after buying an additional 851,937 shares during the period. 41.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Planet Labs PBC Stock Down 5.7%

Shares of Planet Labs PBC stock opened at $24.13 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $23.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.90. Planet Labs PBC has a fifty-two week low of $2.79 and a fifty-two week high of $30.90. The firm has a market cap of $7.57 billion, a P/E ratio of -57.45 and a beta of 1.94. The company has a quick ratio of 4.00, a current ratio of 4.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 10th. The company reported $0.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.02. Planet Labs PBC had a negative net margin of 45.87% and a negative return on equity of 31.01%. The company had revenue of $81.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.02 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.02) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Planet Labs PBC will post -0.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Ashley F. Johnson sold 150,731 shares of Planet Labs PBC stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.01, for a total transaction of $4,071,244.31. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,956,101 shares in the company, valued at $52,834,288.01. The trade was a 7.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Robert H. Schingler sold 73,782 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.35, for a total transaction of $1,427,681.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,164,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,537,506.15. This represents a 5.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 292,348 shares of company stock worth $7,323,958. 17.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wedbush raised their price objective on Planet Labs PBC from $20.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Planet Labs PBC from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Planet Labs PBC from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Planet Labs PBC from $19.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, National Bank Financial set a $12.30 target price on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.88.

Planet Labs PBC Profile

Planet Labs PBC is a public benefit corporation that operates one of the largest fleets of Earth-imaging satellites, providing high-frequency, high-resolution imagery and data analytics to a broad range of industries. The company’s multi-spectral satellite constellation captures daily snapshots of the planet, enabling clients to monitor changes in agriculture, forestry, urban development, energy infrastructure and environmental conditions. Planet’s imagery platform is designed to support timely decision-making by transforming raw satellite data into actionable insights for business and government users.

Founded in 2010 by former NASA scientists Will Marshall, Robbie Schingler and Chris Boshuizen, Planet Labs grew from a small startup into a key provider in the satellite imaging sector.