Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) Trading Up 1.5% on Analyst Upgrade

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL)’s share price was up 1.5% during trading on Monday after Craig Hallum raised their price target on the stock from $36.00 to $49.00. Craig Hallum currently has a buy rating on the stock. Planet Labs PBC traded as high as $34.04 and last traded at $32.7140. Approximately 20,009,720 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 50% from the average daily volume of 13,314,154 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.22.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Planet Labs PBC from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $38.00 target price on shares of Planet Labs PBC and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Planet Labs PBC from $40.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Northland Securities set a $50.00 target price on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Planet Labs PBC from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.11.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Ashley F. Johnson sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,895,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,520,186.20. This represents a 9.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Robert H. Schingler sold 73,683 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.07, for a total transaction of $2,584,062.81. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 256,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,995,034.16. This represents a 22.32% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 16.42% of the company’s stock.

Planet Labs PBC News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Planet Labs drew bullish interest after reporting record quarterly revenue of about $94.2 million, 42% year-over-year growth, and a backlog above $906 million, which supports the case for continued top-line expansion. Article: PL Q1 Earnings Call Highlights Defense and AI Push
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators are highlighting Planet Labs as a potential second-half catalyst, pointing to strong results and upside potential as investors look for stocks with fresh growth drivers. Article: 3 Stocks With Fresh Catalysts to Watch Before the July 4
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually heavy call-option buying suggests traders are positioning for more upside in PL, which can reinforce bullish sentiment around the stock. Related Market Activity
• Neutral Sentiment: Several valuation-focused pieces are reminding investors that Planet Labs has rallied sharply, so the stock may now be more sensitive to execution and guidance than to the recent headlines alone. Article: Assessing Planet Labs (PL) Valuation After Sharp Short Term Share Price Volatility
• Negative Sentiment: Some investors are still focusing on Planet Labs’ ongoing losses, margin pressure, and capital intensity, with concerns that profitability remains distant despite strong revenue growth. Article: Planet Labs’ 25% Decline Sparks Big Question – Buy Or Bail? I See Opportunity

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Planet Labs PBC in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new position in shares of Planet Labs PBC in the first quarter worth about $5,472,000. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 30.7% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 20,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $567,000 after acquiring an additional 4,765 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 243.6% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 2,102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 22.6% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 285,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,992,000 after acquiring an additional 52,806 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.71% of the company’s stock.

Planet Labs PBC Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 2.78. The stock has a market cap of $11.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.70 and a beta of 1.99. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $38.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.74.

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 4th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.01. The business had revenue of $94.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.39 million. Planet Labs PBC had a negative net margin of 111.17% and a negative return on equity of 105.29%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Planet Labs PBC will post -0.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.