Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Trims Stock Position in Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RCKT)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its holdings in Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RCKT - Free Report) by 88.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 80,726 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 621,899 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.09% of Rocket Pharmaceuticals worth $2,175,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 19.6% in the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 231,287 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $6,231,000 after buying an additional 37,937 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 115.3% in the first quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC now owns 21,155 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $544,000 after buying an additional 11,330 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,447,565 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $163,264,000 after buying an additional 843,552 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,197,546 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $245,680,000 after buying an additional 174,716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 594,665 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $17,822,000 after buying an additional 64,946 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.39% of the company's stock.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $0.50 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $22.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 527,713 shares, compared to its average volume of 692,291. Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $14.89 and a 1-year high of $32.53. The business has a fifty day moving average of $24.54 and a 200 day moving average of $26.12. The company has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a PE ratio of -7.78 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 10.47, a current ratio of 10.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.66) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.67) by $0.01. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.73) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -2.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Militello sold 1,079 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.35, for a total value of $25,194.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 53,327 shares in the company, valued at $1,245,185.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Rocket Pharmaceuticals news, General Counsel Martin Wilson sold 4,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.33, for a total transaction of $120,253.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 18,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $547,884.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Militello sold 1,079 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.35, for a total transaction of $25,194.65. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 53,327 shares in the company, valued at $1,245,185.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 395,872 shares of company stock worth $10,830,243. 31.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on RCKT shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $39.00 price target for the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $53.00 price target on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $56.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $52.13.

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.

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