Synovus Financial Corp Grows Stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $RCKT

Key Points

• Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 69.9% in Q1, owning approximately 278,450 shares worth about $1.86 million.
• Insider Jonathan David Schwartz sold 11,161 shares for $33,706, leading to a 4.74% decrease in ownership, while total insider sales in the last ninety days amounted to 36,927 shares.
• Rocket Pharmaceuticals reported a quarterly earnings loss of ($0.59) EPS, which missed analysts' expectations, while the company currently holds a market cap of $365.78 million.

Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RCKT - Free Report) by 69.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 278,450 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 114,557 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp owned 0.26% of Rocket Pharmaceuticals worth $1,857,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,617,784 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $44,141,000 after purchasing an additional 40,189 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its position in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 4,820,701 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $32,154,000 after buying an additional 106,091 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 111.0% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,004,039 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $50,343,000 after buying an additional 2,106,699 shares during the period. Suvretta Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Rocket Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,267,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 3,163.9% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,569,823 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $19,733,000 after buying an additional 1,521,727 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.39% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Rocket Pharmaceuticals

In related news, General Counsel Martin Wilson sold 12,109 shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the general counsel directly owned 137,054 shares in the company, valued at $413,903.08. The trade was a 8.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Elisabeth Bjork purchased 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $3.41 per share, for a total transaction of $34,100.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 40,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $136,400. This represents a 33.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 36,927 shares of company stock worth $111,413 over the last three months. 24.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RCKT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $30.00 to $8.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $51.00 to $19.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Eight investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $16.73.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of RCKT traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $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 52-week low of $2.19 and a 52-week high of $22.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 6.39 and a quick ratio of 6.39. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $3.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $353.91 million, a PE ratio of -1.31 and a beta of 0.62.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 last year, the firm posted ($0.74) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -2.83 earnings per share for the current year.

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.