Ashley Johnson Sells 55,663 Shares of Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) Stock

Key Points

• CFO Ashley Johnson sold 55,663 Planet Labs shares at an average price of $16.96, generating approximately $944,000. The transaction reduced her holdings by 8.79%, leaving her with 577,915 shares.
• Planet Labs stock rose 6.5% to $17.07 during the reported trading session. Its latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with $116.05 million in revenue and EPS of $0.02, although the company remains deeply unprofitable.
• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $32.77, while institutional investors own 41.71% of the company. Several major funds recently increased their positions in Planet Labs.

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL - Get Free Report) CFO Ashley Johnson sold 55,663 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.96, for a total value of $944,044.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 577,915 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,801,438.40. The trade was a 8.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Planet Labs PBC Trading Up 6.5%

Planet Labs PBC stock traded up $1.04 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $17.07. The stock had a trading volume of 11,156,005 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,169,847. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 2.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.21 billion, a PE ratio of -15.51 and a beta of 2.10. Planet Labs PBC has a 12 month low of $10.22 and a 12 month high of $51.76.

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 3rd. The company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.04. Planet Labs PBC had a negative net margin of 95.13% and a negative return on equity of 93.11%. The company had revenue of $116.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $104.53 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.07) EPS. The company's revenue was up 58.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Planet Labs PBC will post -0.91 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Planet Labs PBC

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PL. Tema ETFs LLC increased its stake in Planet Labs PBC by 75,804.6% during the 2nd quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 1,590,960 shares of the company's stock worth $52,709,000 after purchasing an additional 1,588,864 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in Planet Labs PBC by 5,339.2% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 1,591,020 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,710,000 after buying an additional 1,561,769 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 2,046.9% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 966,280 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,055,000 after buying an additional 921,272 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Planet Labs PBC in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,494,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 80.4% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,932,381 shares of the company's stock worth $54,010,000 after acquiring an additional 861,306 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PL. Citigroup downgraded Planet Labs PBC from a "market perform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Zacks Research upgraded Planet Labs PBC from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. New Street Research raised Planet Labs PBC from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Craig Hallum set a $35.00 target price on Planet Labs PBC in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on shares of Planet Labs PBC from $53.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $32.77.

About Planet Labs PBC

Planet Labs PBC is an Earth-imaging and geospatial data company that operates a constellation of satellites designed to provide frequent imagery of the planet's landmass. The company collects, processes and delivers satellite imagery and related data products through cloud-based platforms and application programming interfaces.

Its offerings include PlanetScope imagery for broad-area monitoring, SkySat imagery for higher-resolution observation, and specialized products that support change detection, mapping and environmental analysis.

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