Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) Stock Price Up 2.8% – Still a Buy?

Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB) shares traded up 2.8% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $78.25 and last traded at $78.14. 33,195,783 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 3% from the average session volume of 32,336,223 shares. The stock had previously closed at $75.99.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RKLB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Rocket Lab from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Rocket Lab in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Rocket Lab in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Rocket Lab in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Rocket Lab from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rocket Lab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.25.

Rocket Lab Stock Performance

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’s 50-day moving average price is $56.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.94. The stock has a market cap of $41.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -205.63 and a beta of 2.16.

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The rocket manufacturer reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.02. The business 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.10) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Rocket Lab Corporation will post -0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rocket Lab

In related news, CEO Peter Beck sold 1,560,254 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.47, for a total transaction of $89,667,797.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 939,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,007,202.62. This represents a 62.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Arjun Kampani sold 28,615 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 $1,163,199.75. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 461,014 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,740,219.10. The trade was a 5.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,731,985 shares of company stock valued at $152,026,345. Corporate insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Rocket Lab

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in RKLB. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its holdings in Rocket Lab by 176.1% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rocket Lab during the second quarter worth approximately $192,918,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Rocket Lab in the 2nd quarter valued at $164,751,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 2,504,054 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Rocket Lab by 5.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,809,723 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,003,104,000 after purchasing an additional 2,127,565 shares in the last quarter. 71.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.