Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) Trading Up 6.7% – Here’s Why

Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB)’s stock price shot up 6.7% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $44.74 and last traded at $44.72. 13,765,767 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 33% from the average session volume of 20,536,898 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.90.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on RKLB. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of Rocket Lab in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $83.00 target price for the company. Citigroup reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Rocket Lab in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Rocket Lab from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Rocket Lab in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Rocket Lab in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rocket Lab presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.17.

Rocket Lab Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $54.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.18 and a quick ratio of 2.83.

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The rocket manufacturer reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.02. Rocket Lab had a negative return on equity of 27.26% and a negative net margin of 35.64%.The business had revenue of $155.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $152.45 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.10) earnings per share. Rocket Lab’s quarterly revenue was up 48.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Rocket Lab Corporation will post -0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Rocket Lab

In other Rocket Lab news, Director Matthew Ocko sold 1,873,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.20, for a total transaction of $90,283,275.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 541,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,101,553.20. The trade was a 77.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Arjun Kampani sold 31,185 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.97, for a total transaction of $1,527,129.45. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 499,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,438,233.65. This trade represents a 5.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 5,583,532 shares of company stock valued at $274,781,358. 11.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rocket Lab

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RKLB. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Rocket Lab by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,809,723 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $2,003,104,000 after acquiring an additional 2,127,565 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Rocket Lab by 9.4% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,462,103 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $692,879,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242,547 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Rocket Lab by 13.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,399,571 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $594,063,000 after buying an additional 1,487,237 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Rocket Lab by 176.1% during the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 12,125,910 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $580,952,000 after buying an additional 7,734,788 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Rocket Lab by 67.0% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,242,304 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $223,287,000 after buying an additional 2,504,054 shares during the period. 71.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab USA, Inc, a space company, provides launch services and space systems solutions for the space and defense industries. The company provides launch services, spacecraft design services, spacecraft components, spacecraft manufacturing, and other spacecraft and on-orbit management solutions; and constellation management services, as well as designs and manufactures small and medium-class rockets.