Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT) Upgraded to "Buy" at Needham & Company LLC

Key Points

• Needham upgraded Rocket Pharmaceuticals to “Buy” from “Hold” and set a $9 price target, implying approximately 164% upside from the stock’s $3.41 price. Chardan also reiterated a “Buy” rating with an $11 target, although the broader analyst consensus remains “Hold.”
• Rocket reported quarterly EPS of $1.08, exceeding the $0.86 consensus estimate, but analysts still expect a full-year loss of $1.36 per share. The stock remains near the lower end of its 52-week range, with a market capitalization of about $374 million.
• Institutional ownership is substantial at 98.39%, including new positions from BlackRock and Monaco Asset Management, while insiders sold shares primarily to cover tax obligations related to vested equity awards.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm presently has a $9.00 target price on the biotechnology company's stock. Needham & Company LLC's price target suggests a potential upside of 163.93% from the stock's current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on RCKT. Chardan Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $11.00 price target on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings downgraded Rocket Pharmaceuticals from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen raised Rocket Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Wedbush dropped their price target on Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $8.62.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of RCKT stock opened at $3.41 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $3.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.63. Rocket Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $2.53 and a one year high of $5.45. The stock has a market cap of $374.35 million, a P/E ratio of -20.06 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 9.24 and a quick ratio of 9.24.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The biotechnology company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.22. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.62) EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Rocket Pharmaceuticals will post -1.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Rocket Pharmaceuticals news, COO Christopher Stevens sold 36,658 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.50, for a total transaction of $128,303.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 505,784 shares in the company, valued at $1,770,244. This trade represents a 6.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, General Counsel Martin Wilson sold 75,364 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.40, for a total value of $256,237.60. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 598,489 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,034,862.60. This represents a 11.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders sold 125,977 shares of company stock worth $432,273. Insiders own 21.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Rocket Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $33,940,000. Monaco Asset Management SAM bought a new position in Rocket Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $8,483,000. Maverick Capital Ltd. increased its position in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 42.0% during the first quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 3,567,372 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $12,771,000 after acquiring an additional 1,054,262 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,512,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,506,000. 98.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA aligned with Rocket Pharmaceuticals on continued enrollment and dosing in the pivotal Phase 2 trial of RP-A501 for Danon disease. Agreement on the recalibrated dose and other key trial elements reduces regulatory uncertainty and supports progress toward potentially important clinical data. Rocket Pharmaceuticals Announces FDA Alignment on Path to Complete Pivotal Phase 2 Trial of RP-A501 in Danon Disease
• Positive Sentiment: Chardan Capital reaffirmed its Buy rating and set an $11 price target, implying substantial upside from recent trading levels. This reflects continued analyst confidence in Rocket’s gene-therapy pipeline and the RP-A501 program. Chardan Capital rating update
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional ownership activity was generally constructive in the second quarter. Opaleye Management, Squarepoint Ops and Corient Private Wealth increased their positions, while Wellington Management and HB Wealth Management initiated stakes. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own approximately 98.39% of the shares.
• Neutral Sentiment: Rocket presented at the Morgan Stanley 24th Annual Global Healthcare Conference, giving investors an opportunity to evaluate management’s development strategy and clinical pipeline. Morgan Stanley Healthcare Conference transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite the bullish Chardan view, the broader analyst consensus remains Hold, with an average price target of $8.57 and a mix of Buy, Hold and Sell ratings.
• Negative Sentiment: General Counsel Martin Wilson sold 75,364 shares worth approximately $256,238, reducing his ownership by 11.18%. The company said the sale covered tax-withholding obligations tied to vested equity awards, making it less concerning than a discretionary sale, but it may still weigh on sentiment.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on developing gene therapies for rare and devastating diseases. The company uses lentiviral and adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector platforms to deliver genetic material intended to address the underlying causes of inherited disorders, with research programs spanning hematology, immunology, metabolic disease and cardiac conditions.

Rocket's pipeline has included RP-L102 for Fanconi anemia, a rare inherited bone marrow failure disorder; RP-L201 for leukocyte adhesion deficiency-I, an immune-system disorder; and RP-L301 for pyruvate kinase deficiency, a rare red blood cell disorder.

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