AlphaQuest LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $RCKT

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 344.5%, ending the first quarter with approximately 96,391 shares valued at $643,000.
• Significant changes in investor positions included Signaturefd LLC increasing its stake by 83.6% and HSBC Holdings purchasing a new stake worth approximately $69,000.
• Recent analyst ratings have been mixed, with Goldman Sachs downgrading Rocket Pharmaceuticals from "neutral" to "sell", while the average price target for the stock is currently at $16.73.

AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RCKT - Free Report) by 344.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 96,391 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 74,705 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Rocket Pharmaceuticals worth $643,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in RCKT. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 83.6% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 9,024 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 4,108 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 40.4% during the 4th quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC now owns 5,656 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 1,628 shares in the last quarter. LJI Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $80,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 16.1% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,929 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 1,658 shares in the last quarter. 98.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Elisabeth Bjork purchased 10,000 shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $3.41 per share, for a total transaction of $34,100.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $136,400. The trade was a 33.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Martin Wilson sold 12,109 shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.02, for a total value of $36,569.18. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 137,054 shares in the company, valued at approximately $413,903.08. This represents a 8.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 36,927 shares of company stock valued at $111,413 in the last 90 days. 24.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

RCKT traded down $0.07 on Friday, hitting $3.28. 2,288,954 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,993,756. Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2.19 and a fifty-two week high of $22.01. The company has a current ratio of 6.39, a quick ratio of 6.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $3.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.35. The stock has a market cap of $353.91 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.31 and a beta of 0.62.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.59) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.57) by ($0.02). During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.74) EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -2.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RCKT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $12.00 to $5.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $7.00 price target on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $16.73.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.