Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.03 EPS

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The biotechnology company reported ($0.45) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.48) by $0.03, Zacks reports. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.71) earnings per share.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ RCKT traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $3.17. 2,118,380 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,428,885. The company has a market cap of $342.06 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.26 and a beta of 0.70. Rocket Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $2.19 and a 12-month high of $17.83. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $3.44 and a 200 day moving average of $3.83. The company has a quick ratio of 6.39, a current ratio of 6.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rocket Pharmaceuticals news, insider John Militello sold 28,918 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.96, for a total transaction of $114,515.28. Following the transaction, the insider owned 67,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $265,343.76. The trade was a 30.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Martin Wilson sold 12,109 shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.02, for a total value of $36,569.18. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 137,054 shares in the company, valued at approximately $413,903.08. This trade represents a 8.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 64,368 shares of company stock worth $221,675 over the last quarter. 24.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rocket Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in RCKT. Prudential Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its position in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 94.4% during the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 12,202 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 5,926 shares during the period. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC purchased a new position in Rocket Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $55,000. Marex Group plc acquired a new stake in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $56,000. 98.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RCKT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Chardan Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $11.00 price objective on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Leerink Partners reduced their price target on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $9.00 to $7.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.60.

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.