Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Planet Labs PBC experienced a significant increase in trading volume, with over 9.2 million shares traded after JMP Securities raised its price target from $8.00 to $11.00.
• Several brokerages have increased their target prices for the stock, with Needham & Company issuing a buy rating and a target of $12.00, showcasing strong analyst support.
• The company's latest earnings report revealed a revenue of $73.39 million, surpassing estimates but missing on EPS, which has implications for its financial health and market perception.

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL - Get Free Report) saw an uptick in trading volume on Wednesday after JMP Securities raised their price target on the stock from $8.00 to $11.00. JMP Securities currently has a market outperform rating on the stock. 9,260,636 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 27% from the previous session's volume of 7,299,225 shares.The stock last traded at $8.99 and had previously closed at $9.02.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on PL. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Planet Labs PBC from $5.00 to $7.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Planet Labs PBC from $5.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Planet Labs PBC from $8.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $8.50 target price (up previously from $6.30) on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Planet Labs PBC from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $7.56.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PL. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in Planet Labs PBC during the 1st quarter worth about $115,000. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in Planet Labs PBC by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 293,950 shares of the company's stock worth $994,000 after acquiring an additional 6,692 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Planet Labs PBC by 1,316.8% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 167,362 shares of the company's stock worth $566,000 after acquiring an additional 155,549 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in Planet Labs PBC by 48.9% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 208,412 shares of the company's stock worth $842,000 after acquiring an additional 68,465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in Planet Labs PBC by 220.5% during the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 45,143 shares of the company's stock worth $153,000 after acquiring an additional 31,057 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.71% of the company's stock.

Planet Labs PBC Stock Performance

The company's fifty day simple moving average is $6.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.11. The company has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -31.98 and a beta of 1.81.

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 8th. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.03). Planet Labs PBC had a negative net margin of 34.46% and a negative return on equity of 20.25%. The firm had revenue of $73.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.88 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.06) earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. Planet Labs PBC has set its FY 2026 guidance at EPS. Q3 2026 guidance at EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Planet Labs PBC will post -0.37 EPS for the current year.

About Planet Labs PBC

Planet Labs PBC engages in the design, construction, and launch constellations of satellites with the intent of providing high cadence geospatial data delivered to customers through an online platform worldwide. The company's platform offers planet monitoring, basemap, tasking, apps, and application programming interfaces, as well as analytics and planetary variables.