Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) Trading 10.4% Higher – Time to Buy?

Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB) shares shot up 10.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $49.68 and last traded at $49.37. 27,326,983 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 33% from the average session volume of 20,568,932 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.72.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on RKLB. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Rocket Lab from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Rocket Lab from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Rocket Lab in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $83.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Rocket Lab in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on Rocket Lab from $50.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Two research 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, Rocket Lab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.17.

Rocket Lab Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $54.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.65. The company has a current ratio of 3.18, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $26.37 billion, a PE ratio of -129.92 and a beta of 2.20.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rocket Lab news, CEO Peter Beck sold 18,857 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.65, for a total transaction of $766,537.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 902,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,704,592.30. This trade represents a 2.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Frank Klein sold 4,736 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.08, for a total transaction of $199,290.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,269,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,420,012.96. This represents a 0.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 5,573,532 shares of company stock valued at $274,301,358 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rocket Lab

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Rocket Lab in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Rocket Lab during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Rocket Lab by 352.5% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 543 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 423 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Rocket Lab in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Rocket Lab by 109.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 796 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.78% of the company’s stock.

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.