Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) Stock Price Down 1.3% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Planet Labs PBC shares fell 1.3% on Wednesday, trading between $30.20 and $30.76 on lighter-than-average volume.
• Analysts remain mixed on the stock: recent moves included a downgrade to strong sell from Zacks, while other firms kept bullish targets as high as $50. The consensus rating is currently Hold with an average price target of $35.11.
• The company’s latest earnings beat estimates, with EPS of -$0.03 versus expectations of -$0.04 and revenue of $94.15 million, up 42.1% year over year. Despite the growth, the business still posted deep losses and insiders have recently sold shares.

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL - Get Free Report) was down 1.3% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $30.20 and last traded at $30.7550. Approximately 11,076,156 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 17% from the average daily volume of 13,376,562 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.17.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on PL shares. Zacks Research cut Planet Labs PBC from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $38.00 target price on Planet Labs PBC and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Planet Labs PBC from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Finally, New Street Research started coverage on Planet Labs PBC in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. They set a "sell" rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $35.11.

Planet Labs PBC Stock Down 1.3%

The firm's fifty day moving average price is $38.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.03. The company has a market capitalization of $10.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.98 and a beta of 1.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 2.78.

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $94.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.39 million. Planet Labs PBC had a negative net margin of 111.17% and a negative return on equity of 105.29%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 42.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Planet Labs PBC will post -0.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Planet Labs PBC

In other news, CFO Ashley F. Johnson sold 200,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.10, for a total transaction of $7,020,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,895,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,520,186.20. This represents a 9.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Robert H. Schingler sold 73,683 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.07, for a total transaction of $2,584,062.81. Following the transaction, the insider owned 256,488 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,995,034.16. This trade represents a 22.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 16.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Planet Labs PBC by 671.1% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 92,693 shares of the company's stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 80,672 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Planet Labs PBC in the first quarter valued at $189,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Planet Labs PBC by 6.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 130,798 shares of the company's stock valued at $442,000 after purchasing an additional 8,143 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Planet Labs PBC by 54.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,856,245 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,274,000 after purchasing an additional 653,173 shares during the period. Finally, Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. acquired a new stake in Planet Labs PBC in the second quarter valued at $121,000. 41.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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