Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) Shares Up 8.9% – Time to Buy?

Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB) shares were up 8.9% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $76.24 and last traded at $75.99. Approximately 31,247,715 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 17% from the average daily volume of 26,787,726 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.76.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RKLB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Rocket Lab from $63.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Rocket Lab in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Rocket Lab in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Rocket Lab in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Rocket Lab from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.25.

Rocket Lab Trading Up 8.9%

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $55.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.92. The stock has a market cap of $40.59 billion, a P/E ratio of -199.97 and a beta of 2.15. The company has a current ratio of 3.18, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The rocket manufacturer reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.10) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 48.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Rocket Lab Corporation will post -0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Rocket Lab

In related news, Director Nina Armagno sold 27,314 shares of Rocket Lab stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.21, for a total transaction of $1,863,087.94. Following the sale, the director directly owned 108,940 shares in the company, valued at $7,430,797.40. The trade was a 20.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Adam C. Spice sold 46,994 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.86, for a total transaction of $1,920,174.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,995,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $81,530,940.78. The trade was a 2.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 2,731,985 shares of company stock valued at $152,026,345. 11.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Rocket Lab by 5.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,809,723 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $2,003,104,000 after purchasing an additional 2,127,565 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Rocket Lab by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,462,103 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $692,879,000 after buying an additional 1,242,547 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of 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 stake in Rocket Lab by 176.1% during the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 12,125,910 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $580,952,000 after buying an additional 7,734,788 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Rocket Lab by 67.0% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,242,304 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $223,287,000 after acquiring an additional 2,504,054 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.78% of the company’s stock.

About Rocket Lab

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.