Critical Contrast: Rocket Lab (RKLB) and Its Rivals

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) is one of 229 public companies in the “Aerospace & Defense” industry, but how does it compare to its peers? We will compare Rocket Lab to related companies based on the strength of its profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, institutional ownership and risk.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

71.8% of Rocket Lab shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 49.5% of shares of all “Aerospace & Defense” companies are owned by institutional investors. 8.4% of Rocket Lab shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 11.8% of shares of all “Aerospace & Defense” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Rocket Lab has a beta of 3.15, meaning that its stock price is 215% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Rocket Lab’s peers have a beta of 1.31, meaning that their average stock price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Rocket Lab and its peers gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Rocket Lab	$601.80 million	-$198.21 million	-232.26
Rocket Lab Competitors	$8.43 billion	$569.54 million	25.87

Rocket Lab’s peers have higher revenue and earnings than Rocket Lab. Rocket Lab is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Profitability

This table compares Rocket Lab and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Rocket Lab	-25.73%	-7.71%	-6.18%
Rocket Lab Competitors	-348.96%	-46.51%	-4.31%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Rocket Lab and its peers, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Rocket Lab	1	5	15	3	2.83
Rocket Lab Competitors	2156	8270	12781	580	2.50

Rocket Lab presently has a consensus target price of $100.10, indicating a potential upside of 59.62%. As a group, “Aerospace & Defense” companies have a potential upside of 26.00%. Given Rocket Lab’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Rocket Lab is more favorable than its peers.

Summary

Rocket Lab beats its peers on 8 of the 13 factors compared.

Rocket Lab Company Profile

Rocket Lab is a space company that provides launch services and spacecraft and satellite systems for commercial, civil, and national security customers. Founded in 2006 by Peter Beck, the company operates internationally, with headquarters in Long Beach, California, and launch operations in New Zealand and the United States. Its launch business centers on Electron, a small orbital rocket designed to carry satellites to space, and HASTE, a suborbital vehicle used for hypersonic test missions. Rocket Lab is also developing Neutron, a larger launch vehicle.