Rocket Lab USA (NASDAQ:RKLB) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:RKLB) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $25.42, but opened at $26.60. Rocket Lab USA shares last traded at $27.87, with a volume of 4,173,558 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on RKLB. TD Cowen raised Rocket Lab USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Rocket Lab USA from $14.35 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Rocket Lab USA from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Rocket Lab USA in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Rocket Lab USA from $21.00 to $18.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.50.

Rocket Lab USA Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.12. The company has a current ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $12.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -75.78 and a beta of 2.04.

Rocket Lab USA (NASDAQ:RKLB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The rocket manufacturer reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.02). Rocket Lab USA had a negative return on equity of 39.47% and a negative net margin of 51.76%. The business had revenue of $122.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $120.74 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.09) earnings per share. Rocket Lab USA’s quarterly revenue was up 32.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Rocket Lab USA, Inc. will post -0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Frank Klein sold 1,835 shares of Rocket Lab USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.93, for a total value of $36,571.55. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,417,644 shares in the company, valued at $28,253,644.92. The trade was a 0.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 13.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rocket Lab USA

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RKLB. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its position in shares of Rocket Lab USA by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 79,943 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $2,187,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC boosted its position in Rocket Lab USA by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 74,522 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $1,898,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of Rocket Lab USA by 4.0% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 11,888 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its position in Rocket Lab USA by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 35,085 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $627,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rocket Lab USA by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,014 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $153,000 after acquiring an additional 653 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.78% of the company’s stock.

Rocket Lab USA Company Profile

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.