Sovran Advisors LLC Sells 127,063 Shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $RCKT

Key Points

• Sovran Advisors LLC has reduced its stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 39.3%, selling 127,063 shares and now holding approximately 196,028 shares worth $480,000.
• Multiple institutional investors have shown interest in Rocket Pharmaceuticals, with Goldman Sachs increasing its holdings by 24% and California State Teachers Retirement System raising theirs by 5.5%.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Rocket Pharmaceuticals, with target prices ranging from $5.00 to $30.00, but the average target price is currently around $16.73.

Sovran Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RCKT - Free Report) by 39.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 196,028 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 127,063 shares during the quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC owned 0.18% of Rocket Pharmaceuticals worth $480,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in RCKT. Toronto Dominion Bank acquired a new stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $13,827,000. Baker BROS. Advisors LP grew its position in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 1,030.1% during the first quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 1,097,079 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $7,318,000 after buying an additional 1,000,000 shares in the last quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at approximately $4,200,000. MPM Bioimpact LLC boosted its holdings in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 58.6% during the first quarter. MPM Bioimpact LLC now owns 1,618,265 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $10,794,000 after purchasing an additional 597,706 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,765,000. 98.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jonathan David Schwartz sold 11,161 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.02, for a total value of $33,706.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 224,094 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $676,763.88. This represents a 4.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Martin Wilson sold 12,109 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.02, for a total transaction of $36,569.18. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 137,054 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $413,903.08. This represents a 8.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,927 shares of company stock valued at $111,413. Company insiders own 24.76% of the company's stock.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 3.2%

NASDAQ RCKT traded down $0.10 on Friday, reaching $3.07. The company had a trading volume of 3,411,062 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,362,926. The firm has a market capitalization of $331.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.22 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 6.39 and a current ratio of 6.39. Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2.19 and a 1-year high of $21.29. The company's fifty day moving average is $3.18 and its 200-day moving average is $4.68.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.57) by ($0.02). During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.74) EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -2.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RCKT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $8.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $12.00 to $5.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rocket Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $16.73.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals 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.