Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) Shares Climb 5.8% – What’s Next?

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) shares were up 5.8% during trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $17.17 and last traded at $17.3310. 6,041,047 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 50% from the average session volume of 12,068,066 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.38.

Trending Headlines about Planet Labs PBC

Here are the key news stories impacting Planet Labs PBC this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Pelican-12 advances toward launch: Planet announced that its upgraded second-generation Pelican-12 high-resolution satellite has arrived at Cape Canaveral for SpaceX’s Bandwagon-5 rideshare mission. The satellite’s arrival less than three months after Pelican-11 highlights faster production and iteration, supporting Planet’s imagery capacity and product roadmap. Planet’s Pelican-12 Satellite Arrives at Launch Site
• Positive Sentiment: Google’s Suncatcher timeline raises sector interest: Reports that Google plans to launch an experimental AI satellite for Project Suncatcher on October 1 are boosting attention toward satellite-based computing and data services. The development could strengthen investor interest in Planet’s satellite infrastructure and Earth-observation data capabilities, although it does not represent a direct contract for PL. Google Moves Up its Space Data Center Timeline
• Positive Sentiment: Strong liquidity supports investment: Planet’s reported $865 million cash position gives it flexibility to expand satellite manufacturing, pursue growth investments and address opportunities in its backlog and satellite-services business. Planet Labs’ $865M Cash Pile
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader space-stock momentum: Planet participated in a wider rally across pure-play space companies, while industry commentary points to steady global connectivity demand. The move appears partly sector-driven rather than tied solely to a new Planet-specific contract or earnings update. Space Stocks Rally as Buying Spreads Across the Pure Plays
• Negative Sentiment: Insider share sale weighs on sentiment: A Planet co-founder sold approximately 106,000 shares valued at about $1.8 million, representing roughly 11% of the insider’s prior stake. While one transaction does not establish a trend, it can raise concerns about insider confidence and add selling pressure. Planet Labs Co-founder Sells Shares
• Negative Sentiment: Launch-access risk remains: Analysts note that tightening availability for shared SpaceX Falcon 9 launches by 2028 could increase launch prices and constrain capacity for satellite operators such as Planet. Higher deployment costs could pressure margins and slow constellation expansion. 3 Space Stocks to Watch as SpaceX Reshapes the Launch Market

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Northland Securities set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Wedbush started coverage on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Craig Hallum set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a research report on Friday, September 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.77.

Planet Labs PBC Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.82 and a beta of 2.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 2.82 and a current ratio of 2.84.

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 3rd. The company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.04. The company had revenue of $116.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $104.53 million. Planet Labs PBC had a negative return on equity of 93.11% and a negative net margin of 95.13%.Planet Labs PBC’s revenue was up 58.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.07) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Planet Labs PBC will post -0.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Planet Labs PBC

In other news, CFO Ashley F. Johnson sold 75,035 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.08, for a total transaction of $1,656,772.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 1,132,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,997,253.76. This represents a 6.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert H. Schingler sold 64,593 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.92, for a total transaction of $1,674,250.56. Following the sale, the insider owned 825,541 shares in the company, valued at $21,398,022.72. This represents a 7.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 279,025 shares of company stock valued at $5,978,941 in the last ninety days. 16.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in Planet Labs PBC by 5,339.2% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 1,591,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,710,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561,769 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 1,802.0% during the 2nd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 194,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,427,000 after buying an additional 183,808 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 580,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,226,000 after buying an additional 19,760 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 68,998 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,286,000 after buying an additional 705 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nykredit A S bought a new stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC during the 2nd quarter worth $302,000. 41.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Planet Labs PBC

Planet Labs PBC is an Earth-imaging and geospatial data company that operates a constellation of satellites designed to provide frequent imagery of the planet’s landmass. The company collects, processes and delivers satellite imagery and related data products through cloud-based platforms and application programming interfaces.

Its offerings include PlanetScope imagery for broad-area monitoring, SkySat imagery for higher-resolution observation, and specialized products that support change detection, mapping and environmental analysis.