Rocket Pharmaceuticals’ (RCKT) Hold Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reiterated by stock analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $42.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on RCKT. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $15.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.73.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RCKT traded down $3.93 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $2.34. The stock had a trading volume of 27,134,353 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,633,277. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $6.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.78. The company has a market capitalization of $249.99 million, a P/E ratio of -0.90 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 6.05, a current ratio of 6.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Rocket Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $2.06 and a fifty-two week high of $26.98.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 13th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.58) by $0.02. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.66) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Rocket Pharmaceuticals will post -2.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Rocket Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CEO Gaurav Shah purchased 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $5.08 per share, for a total transaction of $101,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 792,680 shares in the company, valued at $4,026,814.40. This represents a 2.59% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kinnari Patel bought 21,099 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $4.70 per share, for a total transaction of $99,165.30. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 26,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $125,837.80. This trade represents a 371.79% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 24.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rocket Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 796.2% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 54,921 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $690,000 after purchasing an additional 48,793 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 159.6% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,475 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 3,366 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 19,329 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 1,824 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 72.6% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 70,304 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $884,000 after purchasing an additional 29,564 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Rocket Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $141,000. 98.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Rocket Pharmaceuticals

Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a late-stage biotechnology company that focuses on developing gene therapies for rare and devastating diseases. It has three clinical-stage ex vivo lentiviral vector programs for fanconi anemia, a genetic defect in the bone marrow that reduces production of blood cells or promotes the production of faulty blood cells; leukocyte adhesion deficiency-I, a genetic disorder that causes the immune system to malfunction; and pyruvate kinase deficiency, a rare red blood cell autosomal recessive disorder that results in chronic non-spherocytic hemolytic anemia.