Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) Stock Price Up 8.1% – Here’s What Happened

Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB)’s share price was up 8.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $87.00 and last traded at $87.00. Approximately 17,523,100 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the average daily volume of 28,090,754 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.48.

Key Stories Impacting Rocket Lab

Here are the key news stories impacting Rocket Lab this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Major banks and analysts have reiterated and raised ratings/targets on RKLB (e.g., Bank of America, TD Cowen, Morgan Stanley), boosting confidence that Neutron remains a multi-year growth catalyst. Analysts Remain Steadfast on Rocket Lab After Neutron Test Failure
• Positive Sentiment: Sector-level buying: institutional validation of the “orbital economy” has aligned with retail interest, increasing demand for Rocket Lab shares as space becomes viewed as an investable industrial sector. Space Stock Boom: Why Retail and Wall Street Are Aligning
• Positive Sentiment: Large government/defense exposure (reported multi-hundred-million-dollar deals) underpins revenue visibility and gives institutional investors a safety net versus pure commercial launch risk. Massive News: Rocket Lab Just Secured a Defense Deal That Changes Everything
• Positive Sentiment: Progress on hardware: the “Hungry Hippo” captive fairing for Neutron has arrived at the Virginia launch site — a visible, near-term operational milestone that supports the program’s forward momentum. Rocket Lab’s Hungry Hippo Fairing Arrives at Virginia Launch Site Ahead of First Neutron Flight
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate schedule and cash-flow events: Rocket Lab set its Q4 and full-year 2025 earnings release for Feb. 26 — investors will watch that call for any updated Neutron timing or costs. Rocket Lab Announces Date of Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2025 Financial Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation debate continues: recent fair-value and “what’s going on” pieces highlight differing models for RKLB — watch upcoming guidance and cadence of Neutron milestones to reconcile bullish targets with development risk. Calculating The Fair Value Of Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB)
• Negative Sentiment: Technical setback: a Stage 1 tank ruptured during a hydrostatic qualification test at Long Beach — while Rocket Lab says such failures are part of validation and replacement hardware is in production, the incident injected near-term schedule uncertainty for Neutron and triggered recent profit-taking. Analysts Remain Steadfast on Rocket Lab After Neutron Test Failure
• Negative Sentiment: Volatility risk: with RKLB having run sharply higher over the past years, headlines around Neutron (good or bad) can spark outsized intraday moves and profit-taking. Recent pieces highlight a pullback from record highs after the testing news. What’s Going On With Rocket Lab Stock Tuesday

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on RKLB. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Rocket Lab from $47.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Rocket Lab from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded Rocket Lab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $67.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Rocket Lab in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered Rocket Lab from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.92.

Rocket Lab Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $46.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -228.95 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.18 and a quick ratio of 2.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $66.40 and a 200 day moving average of $56.50.

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The rocket manufacturer reported ($0.03) earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $155.08 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $152.45 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.10) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Rocket Lab Corporation will post -0.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Frank Klein sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.95, for a total value of $7,295,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,169,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $85,314,076.65. This represents a 7.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Merline Saintil sold 12,500 shares of Rocket Lab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $1,125,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 280,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,202,610. The trade was a 4.27% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 4,306,150 shares of company stock valued at $271,865,732 in the last quarter. Insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rocket Lab

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sara Bay Financial grew its holdings in shares of Rocket Lab by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Sara Bay Financial now owns 15,905 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $1,121,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Rocket Lab by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,458 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Traynor Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Rocket Lab by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,191 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $502,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Rocket Lab by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,466 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $939,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Rocket Lab by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,432 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $500,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.78% of the company’s stock.

Rocket Lab Company Profile

Rocket Lab is an aerospace company that provides launch services, spacecraft, and space systems for commercial and government customers. The company’s primary launch vehicle is Electron, a small-lift orbital rocket designed to deploy small satellites and rideshare payloads to low Earth orbit. Rocket Lab also develops and manufactures the Rutherford engine, noted for its electric-pump-fed design and additive-manufactured components, which powers Electron and supports the company’s propulsion capabilities.