Needham & Company LLC Reaffirms Buy Rating for Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT)

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by stock analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $53.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 128.45% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $56.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $39.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Rocket Pharmaceuticals to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.13.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.2 %

NASDAQ RCKT opened at $23.20 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 7.80 and a quick ratio of 7.80. Rocket Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $14.89 and a one year high of $32.53. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.89 and a beta of 1.12.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.64) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.78) by $0.14. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.92) EPS. Research analysts expect that Rocket Pharmaceuticals will post -2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rocket Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director David P. Southwell sold 10,000 shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.05, for a total transaction of $240,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 114,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,760,555.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director David P. Southwell sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.05, for a total transaction of $240,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 114,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,760,555.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David P. Southwell sold 70,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.36, for a total transaction of $1,705,200.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 95,160 shares in the company, valued at $2,318,097.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 414,935 shares of company stock worth $11,476,424 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 31.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of RCKT. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 96.2% during the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,068 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,014 shares during the period. Annandale Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 105.8% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,557 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 1,829 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 14.0% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,145 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 633 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Old Well Partners LLC purchased a new position in Rocket Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $200,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.39% of the company’s stock.

About Rocket Pharmaceuticals

Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a late-stage biotechnology company that focuses on developing gene therapies for rare and devastating diseases. It has three clinical-stage ex vivo lentiviral vector programs for fanconi anemia, a genetic defect in the bone marrow that reduces production of blood cells or promotes the production of faulty blood cells; leukocyte adhesion deficiency-I, a genetic disorder that causes the immune system to malfunction; and pyruvate kinase deficiency, a rare red blood cell autosomal recessive disorder that results in chronic non-spherocytic hemolytic anemia.