Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) Trading Up 2% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Planet Labs rose 2% in Monday trading, with volume running above average as shares moved between $28.23 and an intraday high of $29.14.
• Analysts remain mixed but generally constructive: several firms raised price targets, including Craig Hallum to $49, while the overall consensus rating is still Hold with a $35.11 average target.
• The company’s latest earnings beat expectations, posting EPS of -$0.03 versus an expected -$0.04 and revenue of $94.15 million, up 42.1% year over year.

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL - Get Free Report) was up 2% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $29.14 and last traded at $28.8020. Approximately 15,183,269 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 12% from the average session volume of 13,583,872 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.23.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on PL. Craig Hallum boosted their price objective on Planet Labs PBC from $36.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Planet Labs PBC from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Citigroup boosted 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a report on Monday, June 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $35.11.

Planet Labs PBC Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $38.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.06. The company has a market cap of $10.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.26 and a beta of 1.99.

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, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $94.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 42.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Planet Labs PBC will post -0.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Ashley F. Johnson sold 200,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 1,895,162 shares in the company, valued at $66,520,186.20. This trade represents a 9.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Robert H. Schingler sold 73,683 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider directly owned 256,488 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,995,034.16. The trade was a 22.32% decrease in their position. 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 Trading of Planet Labs PBC

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 80,672 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in Planet Labs PBC during the first quarter worth about $189,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 6.6% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 653,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. bought a new stake in Planet Labs PBC in the 2nd quarter valued at $121,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.71% of the company's stock.

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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