Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation, eleven have assigned a buy recommendation and three have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $97.1875.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on RKLB shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Rocket Lab from $73.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Rocket Lab in a report on Friday, May 8th. Clear Str raised Rocket Lab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Rocket Lab in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Craig Hallum upgraded Rocket Lab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $98.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th.

Rocket Lab News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Rocket Lab passed a key System Requirements Review for the Space Development Agency’s Tracking Layer Tranche 3 program, reinforcing its role in missile-defense and national-security space systems. Article: Rocket Lab Achieves Milestone for Missile Defense Constellation, Passes System Requirements Review for SDA Tracking Layer Tranche 3
• Positive Sentiment: The company completed its acquisition of Motiv Space Systems, expanding its in-house robotics and spacecraft components portfolio and supporting its vertical-integration strategy. Article: Rocket Lab Adds Mars-Proven Robotics Capabilities with Completion of Motiv Space Systems Acquisition
• Positive Sentiment: Broader enthusiasm for a possible SpaceX IPO is lifting the entire space sector, and Rocket Lab is benefiting as investors revalue publicly traded space names. Article: US space stocks rise on SpaceX IPO hype
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage highlighting Rocket Lab’s recent momentum points to the $90 million contract, the Motiv acquisition, and SpaceX-related sector optimism as the main reasons the stock has been climbing. Article: Rocket Lab Keeps Making Headlines and Highs—Here’s What’s Driving the Latest Move

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rocket Lab news, Director Merline Saintil sold 18,126 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $1,360,175.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 261,903 shares in the company, valued at $19,653,201.12. This represents a 6.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Frank Klein sold 36,768 shares of Rocket Lab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.95, for a total transaction of $2,645,457.60. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,088,237 shares in the company, valued at $78,298,652.15. This represents a 3.27% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 333,449 shares of company stock valued at $28,295,233. 8.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rocket Lab

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Rocket Lab by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 47,420,192 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,308,033,000 after purchasing an additional 5,610,469 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its holdings in Rocket Lab by 47.2% during the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 17,851,446 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,245,317,000 after purchasing an additional 5,725,536 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Rocket Lab by 12.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,738,623 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Rocket Lab by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,520,223 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $873,411,000 after purchasing an additional 120,652 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Rocket Lab by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,004,724 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $626,605,000 after purchasing an additional 825,158 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.78% of the company’s stock.

Rocket Lab Stock Performance

Shares of RKLB stock opened at $150.23 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $89.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.12. Rocket Lab has a 52 week low of $25.24 and a 52 week high of $151.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.95 billion, a PE ratio of -469.47 and a beta of 2.30. The company has a quick ratio of 4.02, a current ratio of 4.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The rocket manufacturer reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07). The company had revenue of $200.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $189.65 million. Rocket Lab had a negative net margin of 26.87% and a negative return on equity of 11.72%. The firm’s revenue was up 63.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.12) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Rocket Lab will post -0.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Rocket Lab Company Profile

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.