Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) Stock Price Down 2.8% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Shares fell 2.8% intraday to about $34.04 on Wednesday on roughly 6.84M shares traded (about half the average daily volume); analysts' consensus is a "Hold" with an average price target of $29.94 (6 Buys, 4 Holds, 1 Sell).
• Q1 results missed on EPS but beat on revenue: the company reported ($0.48) EPS vs. ($0.05) expected, missing by $0.43, while revenue was $86.82M (up 41% YoY); Planet remains unprofitable (net margin -80.22%) with a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.37.
• Insider selling amid significant institutional ownership: the CFO sold 200,000 shares (~$7.02M) and another insider sold 73,683 shares recently, though insiders still own 17.53% and institutions control about 41.71% of the stock.

Shares of Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL - Get Free Report) were down 2.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $32.57 and last traded at $34.0350. Approximately 6,837,229 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 50% from the average daily volume of 13,560,285 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.03.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on PL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Planet Labs PBC from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Planet Labs PBC from $26.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Planet Labs PBC to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Planet Labs PBC from $20.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Planet Labs PBC from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $29.94.

Planet Labs PBC Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $30.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -43.63 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.37, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.65.

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $86.82 million for 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%. Planet Labs PBC's revenue for the quarter was up 41.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Planet Labs PBC will post -0.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Planet Labs PBC

In other news, 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 value of $2,584,062.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 256,488 shares in the company, valued at $8,995,034.16. This represents a 22.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ashley F. Johnson sold 200,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.10, for a total value of $7,020,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 1,895,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at $66,520,186.20. This trade represents a 9.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 17.53% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Planet Labs PBC

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PL. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 320.3% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,678,938 shares of the company's stock worth $151,429,000 after purchasing an additional 5,851,758 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 758.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,727,743 shares of the company's stock worth $48,386,000 after purchasing an additional 3,293,333 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 265.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,450,479 shares of the company's stock worth $44,787,000 after purchasing an additional 2,506,595 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 257.5% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,362,275 shares of the company's stock worth $30,662,000 after purchasing an additional 1,701,535 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,551,697 shares of the company's stock worth $240,801,000 after purchasing an additional 1,637,880 shares in the last quarter. 41.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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