Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) Shares Up 16.7% on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Shares jumped 16.7% after Citigroup raised its price target from $30 to $35 and kept a buy rating; Planet Labs traded as high as $36.04 while volume surged 79% to about 25.3 million shares.
• Analyst views are mixed — several firms (Cantor Fitzgerald, Needham) lifted targets toward $40, but MarketBeat's average target is $27.70 and the ratings mix is six Buys, four Holds and one Sell.
• Fundamentals are mixed: the company missed EPS expectations (‑$0.48 vs. ‑$0.05) but beat revenue at $86.8M (up 41% y/y); Planet remains unprofitable with negative margins and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.37.

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL - Get Free Report) shares shot up 16.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $30.00 to $35.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Planet Labs PBC traded as high as $36.04 and last traded at $35.8440. 25,273,427 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 79% from the average session volume of 14,114,966 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.71.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Northland Securities set a $28.00 target price on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on shares of Planet Labs PBC from $20.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $16.40 price objective on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Planet Labs PBC to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Planet Labs PBC from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $27.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Planet Labs PBC news, CFO Ashley F. Johnson sold 150,731 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.01, for a total value of $4,071,244.31. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 1,956,101 shares of the company's stock, valued at $52,834,288.01. This represents a 7.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Vijaya Gadde sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total transaction of $535,400.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 250,169 shares in the company, valued at $6,697,024.13. The trade was a 7.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 218,566 shares of company stock worth $5,896,276 in the last quarter. 17.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Planet Labs PBC

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 92.5% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,550 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 745 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Planet Labs PBC during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Planet Labs PBC by 146.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,011 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,195 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.71% of the company's stock.

Planet Labs PBC Trading Up 16.7%

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $25.83 and a 200-day moving average of $19.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.37, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -45.95 and a beta of 1.82.

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 19th. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by ($0.43). The company had revenue of $86.82 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $78.17 million. Planet Labs PBC had a negative net margin of 80.22% and a negative return on equity of 69.61%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 41.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Planet Labs PBC will post -0.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Planet Labs PBC

Planet Labs PBC is a public benefit corporation that operates one of the largest fleets of Earth-imaging satellites, providing high-frequency, high-resolution imagery and data analytics to a broad range of industries. The company's multi-spectral satellite constellation captures daily snapshots of the planet, enabling clients to monitor changes in agriculture, forestry, urban development, energy infrastructure and environmental conditions. Planet's imagery platform is designed to support timely decision-making by transforming raw satellite data into actionable insights for business and government users.

Founded in 2010 by former NASA scientists Will Marshall, Robbie Schingler and Chris Boshuizen, Planet Labs grew from a small startup into a key provider in the satellite imaging sector.

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