Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) Lowered to Hold Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on RKLB. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Rocket Lab from $63.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Rocket Lab from $47.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Rocket Lab in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. KeyCorp cut Rocket Lab from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised Rocket Lab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.92.

Rocket Lab Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ RKLB opened at $69.67 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $37.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -183.34 and a beta of 2.16. Rocket Lab has a twelve month low of $14.71 and a twelve month high of $99.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $74.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.97. The company has a current ratio of 3.18, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The rocket manufacturer reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $155.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarterly revenue was up 48.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.10) EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Rocket Lab will post -0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Peter Beck sold 1,560,254 shares of Rocket Lab stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.47, for a total transaction of $89,667,797.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 939,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,007,202.62. This trade represents a 62.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Adam C. Spice sold 1,365,665 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.50, for a total value of $103,107,707.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,359,568 shares in the company, valued at $102,647,384. This trade represents a 50.11% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 4,306,150 shares of company stock valued at $271,865,732 in the last 90 days. 11.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rocket Lab

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in RKLB. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Rocket Lab by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 127,794 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $6,123,000 after purchasing an additional 15,307 shares during the last quarter. Cadent Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rocket Lab during the third quarter worth about $668,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in Rocket Lab by 44.7% during the 2nd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 992,777 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $35,512,000 after acquiring an additional 306,713 shares in the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rocket Lab during the second quarter worth $1,009,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Rocket Lab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $164,751,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.78% of the company’s stock.

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.