Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) Stock Price Target Lowered at Piper Sandler

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) had its target price cut by research analysts at Piper Sandler from $83.00 to $58.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the rocket manufacturer’s stock. Piper Sandler‘s target price indicates a potential downside of 1.46% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. KGI Securities upgraded shares of Rocket Lab from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $107.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Rocket Lab in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “mixed” rating and set a $122.00 price target on shares of Rocket Lab in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Rocket Lab in a research report on Friday, September 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citizens Jmp cut their price objective on shares of Rocket Lab from $130.00 to $90.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.25.

Rocket Lab Stock Performance

Shares of RKLB stock opened at $58.86 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $62.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.80. Rocket Lab has a 52 week low of $37.57 and a 52 week high of $151.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.22 billion, a PE ratio of -217.99 and a beta of 3.15. The company has a quick ratio of 4.98, a current ratio of 5.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 9th. The rocket manufacturer reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $267.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $257.21 million. Rocket Lab had a negative return on equity of 6.48% and a negative net margin of 21.51%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Rocket Lab will post -0.20 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rocket Lab news, SVP Arjun Kampani sold 6,034 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.65, for a total transaction of $402,166.10. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 250,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,723,618.05. This trade represents a 2.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Frank Klein sold 35,558 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.61, for a total transaction of $2,368,518.38. Following the sale, the insider owned 925,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,663,341.57. The trade was a 3.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 551,832 shares of company stock worth $34,940,037 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 8.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rocket Lab

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Highland Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Rocket Lab during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Rocket Lab in the second quarter worth $30,000. NBH Bank bought a new position in shares of Rocket Lab during the second quarter worth $30,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Rocket Lab during the second quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Rocket Lab by 3,590.0% during the third quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC now owns 369 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.78% of the company’s stock.

Rocket Lab News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue reached a record $267.8 million, up 72.7% year over year and above estimates. Rocket Lab also reported positive GAAP operating cash flow and a record backlog that grew 52% sequentially to about $3.57 billion. Management forecast record fourth-quarter revenue, with a midpoint of roughly $280 million, and gross-margin expansion. Rocket Lab Q3 financial results
• Positive Sentiment: Neutron secured more than $515 million in launch contracts during the quarter, bringing its backlog to 16 missions; the stated base launch price rose to $70 million. The deals point to customer demand ahead of the rocket’s debut. Neutron launch deals
• Neutral Sentiment: NASA selected Rocket Lab for lunar delivery work under its Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, alongside other providers. The awards offer potential future work, but the overall contract pool is shared among multiple companies. Rocket Lab selected for NASA lunar delivery contracts
• Negative Sentiment: The quarterly loss was wider than expected: GAAP loss per share was $0.12 versus the $0.07 loss analysts had forecast. Investors also focused on Neutron’s maiden launch being pushed to 2027 and the associated development costs, which may weigh on near-term profitability despite the strong sales outlook. Rocket Lab shares dip after earnings miss

About Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab is a space company that provides launch services and spacecraft and satellite systems for commercial, civil, and national security customers. Founded in 2006 by Peter Beck, the company operates internationally, with headquarters in Long Beach, California, and launch operations in New Zealand and the United States.

Its launch business centers on Electron, a small orbital rocket designed to carry satellites to space, and HASTE, a suborbital vehicle used for hypersonic test missions.