Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) Trading Up 8.4% – Should You Buy?

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) was up 8.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $25.78 and last traded at $26.17. Approximately 1,913,415 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 11,946,964 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.14.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on PL. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Planet Labs PBC from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Craig Hallum reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Northland Securities set a $28.00 price objective on Planet Labs PBC in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $16.40 price target on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Planet Labs PBC has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.88.

Planet Labs PBC Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $8.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -63.02 and a beta of 1.95. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $23.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.96. The company has a current ratio of 4.00, a quick ratio of 4.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Planet Labs PBC news, Director Vijaya Gadde sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total transaction of $535,400.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 250,169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,697,024.13. The trade was a 7.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Robert H. Schingler sold 73,782 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.35, for a total transaction of $1,427,681.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,164,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,537,506.15. This trade represents a 5.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 292,348 shares of company stock valued at $7,323,958 over the last three months. 17.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Planet Labs PBC

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC lifted its stake in Planet Labs PBC by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 15,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Xponance LLC increased its stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 18,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 12,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 33,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $653,000 after buying an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in Planet Labs PBC by 92.5% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 745 shares during the last quarter. 41.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Planet Labs PBC

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.