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

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of RCKT. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 40.4% during the 4th quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC now owns 5,656 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 1,628 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 83.6% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 9,024 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 4,108 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth approximately $69,000. Mariner LLC acquired a new stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $139,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 16.1% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,929 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 1,658 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.39% of the company's stock.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $0.03 during trading on Thursday, hitting $3.35. 4,404,856 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,841,791. The stock has a market capitalization of $361.47 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.33 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $3.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.46. Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2.19 and a 1-year 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.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on RCKT shares. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $51.00 to $19.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $7.00 price objective on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Chardan Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $11.00 price objective on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $4.00 to $10.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rocket Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $16.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Elisabeth Bjork acquired 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $3.41 per share, with a total value of $34,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 40,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $136,400. This trade represents a 33.33% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan David Schwartz sold 11,161 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.02, for a total transaction of $33,706.22. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 224,094 shares of the company's stock, valued at $676,763.88. This represents a 4.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 36,927 shares of company stock valued at $111,413 over the last ninety days. 24.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Rocket Pharmaceuticals

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.