Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) Shares Up 6.8% – Should You Buy?

Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB)’s stock price rose 6.8% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $133.18 and last traded at $132.55. Approximately 24,910,460 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 6% from the average daily volume of 23,548,742 shares. The stock had previously closed at $124.15.

Key Stories Impacting Rocket Lab

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

• Positive Sentiment: Traders are still bidding up Rocket Lab after its strong Q1 report, which showed revenue growth of 63.5% year over year and better-than-expected results. Rocket Lab Stock Is Climbing Today: What’s Happening?
• Positive Sentiment: Investor momentum is being reinforced by analyst upgrades and rising confidence in Rocket Lab’s growth trajectory after earnings. Why Rocket Lab (RKLB) Stock Is Trading Up Today
• Positive Sentiment: Rocket Lab’s record backlog and new multi-launch deal are helping fuel the breakout, suggesting stronger future revenue visibility. Rocket Lab Stock Jumps After $2.2B Backlog and New Multi-Launch Deal
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s expansion into hypersonics and defense-related work is also supporting the bull case, as investors see a broader market beyond satellite launches. Rocket Lab Buys a Rival for $40 Million Cash

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RKLB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Rocket Lab in a report on Friday, March 13th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Rocket Lab from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 target price (up from $90.00) on shares of Rocket Lab in a report on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Rocket Lab from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 8th. Finally, Citizens Jmp lifted their target price on shares of Rocket Lab from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $97.19.

Rocket Lab Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $75.48 billion, a PE ratio of -414.22 and a beta of 2.30. The company has a current ratio of 4.47, a quick ratio of 4.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company’s 50 day moving average is $76.51 and its 200-day moving average is $69.96.

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The rocket manufacturer reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.07). Rocket Lab had a negative net margin of 26.87% and a negative return on equity of 11.72%. The firm had revenue of $200.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $189.65 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.12) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 63.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Rocket Lab Corporation will post -0.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Merline Saintil sold 18,126 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $1,360,175.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 261,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,653,201.12. The trade was a 6.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Adam C. Spice sold 62,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.59, for a total transaction of $4,366,354.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,296,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $90,245,982.16. The trade was a 4.61% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 233,449 shares of company stock worth $16,487,233 over the last three months. 8.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rocket Lab

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RKLB. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its position in shares of Rocket Lab by 176.1% in the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 12,125,910 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $580,952,000 after purchasing an additional 7,734,788 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Rocket Lab by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 47,420,192 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $3,308,033,000 after purchasing an additional 5,610,469 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Rocket Lab in the 4th quarter worth about $341,036,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of Rocket Lab by 818.8% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,190,132 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $104,929,000 after purchasing an additional 1,951,755 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Rocket Lab by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 16,200,726 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $1,130,172,000 after purchasing an additional 1,738,623 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.