Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL)

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Traders acquired 28,645 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 42% compared to the average volume of 20,197 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on PL shares. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on shares of Planet Labs PBC from $20.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $38.00 target price on shares of Planet Labs PBC and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Northland Securities set a $28.00 target price on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Planet Labs PBC from $30.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Planet Labs PBC from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at Planet Labs PBC

In related news, CFO Ashley F. Johnson sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.10, for a total transaction of $7,020,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,895,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,520,186.20. The trade was a 9.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Vijaya Gadde sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total transaction of $535,400.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 250,169 shares in the company, valued at $6,697,024.13. The trade was a 7.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 492,249 shares of company stock valued at $15,500,339. Insiders own 17.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Planet Labs PBC

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PL. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 92.5% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 745 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Planet Labs PBC during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Planet Labs PBC by 146.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 1,195 shares during the period. 41.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Planet Labs PBC Trading Up 12.4%

NYSE:PL traded up $4.25 on Thursday, hitting $38.66. The stock had a trading volume of 12,824,574 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,955,889. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.37. The stock has a market cap of $13.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -49.62 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $27.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.88. Planet Labs PBC has a 1-year low of $2.92 and a 1-year high of $39.01.

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by ($0.43). The company had revenue of $86.82 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $78.17 million. Planet Labs PBC had a negative net margin of 80.22% and a negative return on equity of 69.61%. Planet Labs PBC’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Planet Labs PBC will post -0.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Planet Labs PBC Company Profile

Planet Labs PBC is a public benefit corporation that operates one of the largest fleets of Earth-imaging satellites, providing high-frequency, high-resolution imagery and data analytics to a broad range of industries. The company’s multi-spectral satellite constellation captures daily snapshots of the planet, enabling clients to monitor changes in agriculture, forestry, urban development, energy infrastructure and environmental conditions. Planet’s imagery platform is designed to support timely decision-making by transforming raw satellite data into actionable insights for business and government users.

Founded in 2010 by former NASA scientists Will Marshall, Robbie Schingler and Chris Boshuizen, Planet Labs grew from a small startup into a key provider in the satellite imaging sector.