Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) shares gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $43.53, but opened at $38.30. Planet Labs PBC shares last traded at $34.8610, with a volume of 7,141,975 shares.

Planet Labs PBC News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Planet Labs PBC this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Planet reported first-quarter revenue of $94.15 million, beating expectations and rising 42.1% year over year, while EPS of -$0.03 matched estimates. The company also raised guidance, with Q2 revenue outlook of $102 million-$107 million and FY2027 revenue guidance of $425 million-$441 million, suggesting continued top-line momentum. Article: Planet Reports Financial Results for First Quarter of Fiscal Year 2027
• Positive Sentiment: The company also announced an extended NGA partnership, including an 8-figure contract extension for maritime surveillance and a new award for crisis response monitoring, reinforcing demand for Planet’s government and defense business. Article: Planet Secures 8-Figure NGA Contract Extension for Maritime Surveillance and New Award for Crisis Response Monitoring
• Neutral Sentiment: Needham raised its price target on Planet Labs to $53 from $40 and reiterated a buy rating, signaling improving analyst confidence after the earnings report. Article: Analyst price target increase
• Negative Sentiment: Sentiment was pressured by Planet’s filing for a large at-the-market stock offering program of up to $1.5 billion, which can raise capital but also increases dilution risk for existing shareholders. Article: Planet Labs Launches $1.5 Billion ATM Stock Program

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on PL. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Planet Labs PBC from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of Planet Labs PBC from $20.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Zacks Research cut shares of Planet Labs PBC from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Planet Labs PBC from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Craig Hallum reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a research note on Friday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Planet Labs PBC presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.53.

Planet Labs PBC Stock Down 22.9%

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $38.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -42.62 and a beta of 1.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.37.

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 4th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.03). Planet Labs PBC had a negative return on equity of 69.61% and a negative net margin of 80.22%.The business had revenue of $94.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.00 million. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Planet Labs PBC will post -0.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Planet Labs PBC news, CFO Ashley F. Johnson sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.10, for a total value of $7,020,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 1,895,162 shares in the company, valued at $66,520,186.20. This trade represents a 9.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Robert H. Schingler sold 73,683 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.07, for a total transaction of $2,584,062.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 256,488 shares in the company, valued at $8,995,034.16. This represents a 22.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 16.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Planet Labs PBC

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,358,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $381,750,000 after acquiring an additional 806,818 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in Planet Labs PBC by 0.3% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 7,820,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,704,000 after buying an additional 20,400 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Planet Labs PBC by 320.3% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,678,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,429,000 after buying an additional 5,851,758 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Planet Labs PBC by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,702,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,475,000 after buying an additional 71,381 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Planet Labs PBC by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,137,871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,599,000 after buying an additional 301,757 shares during the period. 41.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Planet Labs PBC Company 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.