Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) Shares Up 3.6% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB) shot up 3.6% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $53.75 and last traded at $53.43. 16,892,168 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 18% from the average session volume of 20,537,295 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.56.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RKLB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Baird R W raised Rocket Lab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Rocket Lab from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Rocket Lab from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of Rocket Lab in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target (up from $65.00) on shares of Rocket Lab in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.17.

Rocket Lab Stock Up 3.6%

The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 3.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.54 billion, a PE ratio of -140.61 and a beta of 2.20. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $54.29 and its 200-day moving average is $45.30.

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The rocket manufacturer reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.02. Rocket Lab had a negative net margin of 35.64% and a negative return on equity of 27.26%. The company had revenue of $155.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $152.45 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.10) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 48.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Rocket Lab Corporation will post -0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rocket Lab

In other news, CEO Peter Beck sold 18,857 shares of Rocket Lab stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.65, for a total value of $766,537.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 902,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,704,592.30. The trade was a 2.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Merline Saintil sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total value of $480,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 413,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,849,392. This trade represents a 2.36% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 5,583,532 shares of company stock valued at $274,781,358. Corporate insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of RKLB. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Rocket Lab by 70.4% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 53,021 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $948,000 after buying an additional 21,902 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Rocket Lab by 51.4% during the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 378,208 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $6,762,000 after purchasing an additional 128,335 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Rocket Lab by 14.0% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 19,352 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $346,000 after buying an additional 2,381 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of Rocket Lab by 1.4% in the first quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 35,085 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $627,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Rocket Lab by 10.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,029,546 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $715,728,000 after buying an additional 3,833,969 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.78% of the company’s stock.

About Rocket Lab

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.