Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Planet Labs PBC shares rose significantly after Needham & Company upgraded their price target from $12.00 to $16.00, with the stock opening at $14.02 from a previous close of $13.11.
• Other analysts have also increased their price targets for the company, with Wedbush raising it to $17.00 and JMP Securities to $11.00, while nine analysts currently rate the stock as a Buy.
• Insider Robert H. Schingler sold 81,656 shares at an average price of $15.50, resulting in a 5.96% decrease in ownership, indicating potential insider confidence issues amidst the stock surge.

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL - Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Monday after Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on the stock from $12.00 to $16.00. The stock had previously closed at $13.11, but opened at $14.02. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the stock. Planet Labs PBC shares last traded at $13.61, with a volume of 2,017,992 shares changing hands.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Wedbush boosted their target price on Planet Labs PBC from $11.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. JMP Securities boosted their target price on Planet Labs PBC from $8.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Planet Labs PBC in a research note on Monday, June 30th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $4.60 price target on the stock. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $10.11.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Robert H. Schingler sold 81,656 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.50, for a total transaction of $1,265,668.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,288,843 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,977,066.50. The trade was a 5.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 17.53% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Planet Labs PBC

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 129.9% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,276 shares of the company's stock valued at $120,000 after buying an additional 5,241 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 45.1% during the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 9,877 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 3,068 shares during the period. Tableaux LLC purchased a new position in shares of Planet Labs PBC during the second quarter valued at approximately $61,000. May Hill Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Planet Labs PBC in the second quarter worth $62,000. Finally, Iron Gate Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Planet Labs PBC in the first quarter worth $36,000. 41.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Planet Labs PBC Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $4.25 billion, a PE ratio of -46.22 and a beta of 1.99. The company has a 50 day moving average of $10.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.72.

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

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.