Rocket Pharmaceuticals Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:RCKT)

Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RCKT) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Traders acquired 7,425 call options on the company. This is an increase of 529% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,181 call options.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RCKT traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $4.76. The company had a trading volume of 3,631,401 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,777,982. Rocket Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $2.19 and a one year high of $8.26. The company has a current ratio of 6.38, a quick ratio of 6.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $4.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.62. The firm has a market cap of $516.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.37 and a beta of 0.39.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.38) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.04. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.62) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Rocket Pharmaceuticals will post -2.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RCKT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered Rocket Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, March 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $5.00 price target on Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Rocket Pharmaceuticals to $3.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Lifesci Capital upgraded Rocket Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Rocket Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.79.

Insider Transactions at Rocket Pharmaceuticals

In other Rocket Pharmaceuticals news, General Counsel Martin Wilson sold 12,253 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.31, for a total transaction of $40,557.43. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 683,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,261,974.56. This represents a 1.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Gaurav Shah sold 12,279 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.31, for a total transaction of $40,643.49. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,052,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,482,268.95. This trade represents a 1.15% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 29,415 shares of company stock worth $97,398 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 24.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rocket Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RCKT. Maverick Capital Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 60.9% in the second quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 8,363,813 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $20,491,000 after acquiring an additional 3,164,595 shares during the period. Monaco Asset Management SAM increased its holdings in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 538.8% during the 3rd quarter. Monaco Asset Management SAM now owns 2,892,261 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $9,429,000 after acquiring an additional 2,439,494 shares during the period. MPM Bioimpact LLC lifted its stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 141.2% in the 2nd quarter. MPM Bioimpact LLC now owns 3,903,081 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $9,563,000 after purchasing an additional 2,284,816 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 690.8% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,548,262 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,793,000 after purchasing an additional 1,352,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 52.0% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,570,391 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $11,639,000 after purchasing an additional 1,221,554 shares during the period. 98.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Rocket Pharmaceuticals

Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing gene therapies for rare, inherited pediatric diseases. The company employs a proprietary adeno-associated virus (AAV) and lentiviral vector platform to deliver functional copies of genes in patients with genetic deficiencies. Its programs target a spectrum of disorders, including Fanconi anemia, leukocyte adhesion deficiency type I and Danon disease, with the goal of delivering one-time treatments that address the underlying causes of disease rather than merely managing symptoms.

The company’s pipeline comprises multiple product candidates in various stages of development.