Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) Trading Up 4.4% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Shares of Planet Labs rose 4.4% intraday
• Analyst sentiment is mixed — six Buys, four Holds and one Sell — giving an overall average rating of "Hold" with a mean price target of $29.94, though several firms have recently raised targets to about $40 and issued Buy/Outperform opinions.
• The company missed Q1 EPS estimates (reported -$0.48 vs. -$0.05 expected) despite revenue rising 41.1% to $86.82 million, and insiders sold roughly 293,683 shares in the quarter (including the CFO's 200,000‑share sale at $35.10).

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 4.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $41.71 and last traded at $39.6850. 12,059,642 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 13% from the average session volume of 13,864,949 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.03.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on PL. Zacks Research raised shares of Planet Labs PBC from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Planet Labs PBC from $30.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Planet Labs PBC from $26.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Planet Labs PBC to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Planet Labs PBC has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $29.94.

Planet Labs PBC Price Performance

The company's fifty day simple moving average is $29.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.37. The stock has a market cap of $13.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -50.88 and a beta of 1.83.

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL - Get Free Report) last posted its 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). Planet Labs PBC had a negative return on equity of 69.61% and a negative net margin of 80.22%.The firm had revenue of $86.82 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $78.17 million. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 41.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Planet Labs PBC will post -0.45 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Planet Labs PBC

In other news, Director Vijaya Gadde sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total value of $535,400.00. Following the sale, the director owned 250,169 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,697,024.13. This represents a 7.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ashley F. Johnson sold 200,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was 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 directly owned 1,895,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,520,186.20. The trade was a 9.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 293,683 shares of company stock valued at $10,139,463. 17.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Planet Labs PBC

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PL. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in Planet Labs PBC by 92.5% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,550 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 745 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Planet Labs PBC during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. acquired a new position in Planet Labs PBC during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Planet Labs PBC during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Planet Labs PBC by 146.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,011 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 1,195 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.