Zacks Research Downgrades Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) to Hold

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

RKLB has been the subject of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Rocket Lab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $67.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Rocket Lab from $63.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Rocket Lab in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Rocket Lab in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Rocket Lab from $60.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rocket Lab presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.92.

Rocket Lab Trading Down 3.3%

RKLB stock opened at $69.67 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 3.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Rocket Lab has a twelve month low of $14.71 and a twelve month high of $99.58. The company has a market cap of $37.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -183.34 and a beta of 2.16. The business has a fifty day moving average of $74.84 and a 200-day moving average of $58.97.

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The rocket manufacturer reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations of $152.45 million. Rocket Lab had a negative return on equity of 27.26% and a negative net margin of 35.64%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 48.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.10) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Rocket Lab will post -0.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Rocket Lab news, Director Edward H. Frank sold 2,500 shares of Rocket Lab stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.39, for a total value of $193,475.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 142,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,028,384.56. The trade was a 1.72% 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, CFO Adam C. Spice sold 1,365,665 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.50, for a total transaction of $103,107,707.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,359,568 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,647,384. This represents a 50.11% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,306,150 shares of company stock worth $271,865,732. Corporate insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rocket Lab

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of RKLB. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Rocket Lab by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 47,420,192 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $3,308,033,000 after acquiring an additional 5,610,469 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Rocket Lab by 47.2% during the 4th quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 17,851,446 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $1,245,317,000 after buying an additional 5,725,536 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Rocket Lab by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 16,200,726 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,130,172,000 after acquiring an additional 1,738,623 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Rocket Lab by 13.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,399,571 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $594,063,000 after acquiring an additional 1,487,237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Rocket Lab by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,004,724 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $626,605,000 after acquiring an additional 825,158 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.78% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Rocket Lab

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

• Positive Sentiment: Large U.S. defense contract and strong launch execution bolster revenue visibility — Seeking Alpha highlights an $816M U.S. Space Force award and a flawless 2025 Electron launch record, and models a potential Q4 revenue and EPS beat that would support longer-term contract wins and backlog growth. Rocket Lab: Bullish Catalysts Brewing
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support and consensus rating remain constructive — brokerages still carry a consensus “Moderate Buy” and some price targets have moved higher, giving the stock institutional validation despite recent volatility. Consensus Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming earnings call is a key inflection point — investors will seek guidance on Neutron timing, vertical integration progress and margin trends; results could swing sentiment either way. Neutron Hiccup Analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Neutron qualification-test failure injected uncertainty — a Stage 1 tank rupture during testing raised questions about potential delays to Neutron’s maiden flight and sparked the recent sell-off despite the company saying replacement hardware is in production. Neutron Hiccup Coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Volatility, profit-taking and external funding concerns are weighing on the stock — RKLB has pulled back sharply from January highs, and headlines about government funding (e.g., a declined Mars mission appropriation) plus questions over premium valuation and rising costs have added to downside pressure. Zacks: RKLB Falls

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.