Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) Trading 1.2% Higher - What's Next?

Key Points

• Earnings miss: Planet reported Q results with EPS of ($0.48) vs. ($0.05) expected, revenue up 41.1% YoY to $86.82M, but the business remains unprofitable with an 80.22% negative net margin and negative ROE.
• Analyst outlook: The street is mixed—six Buys, four Holds and one Sell—resulting in a consensus “Hold” and an average price target of $29.61, even though several firms have raised targets as high as $40 and the stock trades around $34.35.
• Insider and institutional activity: Company insiders sold roughly 492,249 shares last quarter (including the CFO’s 200,000-share sale), while large funds like VanEck, Barclays, Invesco and Vanguard materially increased their positions; institutions own about 41.7% of the stock.

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL - Get Free Report) shares traded up 1.2% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $35.17 and last traded at $34.3510. 10,894,724 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 22% from the average session volume of 13,975,014 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.93.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup increased their price target on Planet Labs PBC from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on Planet Labs PBC from $20.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Northland Securities set a $28.00 price target on Planet Labs PBC in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Planet Labs PBC from $26.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Six investment 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Planet Labs PBC presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $29.61.

Planet Labs PBC Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $11.89 billion, a PE ratio of -44.04 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. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $27.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.78.

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

Insider Activity at Planet Labs PBC

In related news, CFO Ashley F. Johnson sold 200,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 1,895,162 shares in the company, valued at $66,520,186.20. This represents a 9.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Vijaya Gadde sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,697,024.13. This trade represents a 7.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 492,249 shares of company stock worth $15,500,339 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 17.53% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PL. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 320.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 758.1% during 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 during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 265.6% during 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 during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 257.5% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 9.7% during 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.71% of the company's stock.

Planet Labs PBC Company Profile

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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