Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) Shares Gap Up - Here's Why

Key Points

• Planet Labs shares rose 4.7%, opening at $18.12 versus the prior close of $17.36, with more than 4.2 million shares traded.
• Analyst views remain mixed, resulting in a consensus “Hold” rating and a $32.77 price target; individual targets range from $25 to $40.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $116.05 million in revenue—up 58.2% year over year—and adjusted earnings of $0.02 per share versus a forecasted loss of $0.02, although profitability metrics remained negative.

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday. The stock had previously closed at $17.36, but opened at $18.12. Planet Labs PBC shares last traded at $18.4470, with a volume of 4,220,285 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Planet Labs PBC from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Northland Securities set a $40.00 price objective on Planet Labs PBC in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Citigroup lowered Planet Labs PBC from a "market perform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Finally, Craig Hallum set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a report on Friday, September 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.77.

Planet Labs PBC Stock Up 4.7%

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $19.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.90. The firm has a market cap of $6.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.49 and a beta of 2.17. The company has a current ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 2.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 3rd. The company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.04. Planet Labs PBC had a negative return on equity of 93.11% and a negative net margin of 95.13%.The firm had revenue of $116.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $104.53 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.07) earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 58.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Planet Labs PBC will post -0.91 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Planet Labs PBC news, Director John W. Raymond sold 6,494 shares of Planet Labs PBC stock in a transaction on Monday, July 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.16, for a total transaction of $169,883.04. Following the sale, the director owned 37,114 shares of the company's stock, valued at $970,902.24. The trade was a 14.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Ashley Johnson sold 75,035 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.08, for a total value of $1,656,772.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,132,122 shares in the company, valued at $24,997,253.76. This represents a 6.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 290,525 shares of company stock worth $6,166,391. 16.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Planet Labs PBC

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Planet Labs PBC during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Planet Labs PBC in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 40.9% during the first quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 1,360 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new position in shares of Planet Labs PBC in the 1st quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $66,000. 41.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Planet Labs PBC Company Profile

Planet Labs PBC is an Earth-imaging and geospatial data company that operates a constellation of satellites designed to provide frequent, high-resolution imagery of the planet. Its data is used to monitor changes in land, infrastructure, agriculture, forests, oceans and other environments.

The company's products include PlanetScope, a satellite imagery service intended to provide frequent coverage of large areas; SkySat, which offers higher-resolution imagery and video capabilities; and other satellite and data products, including hyperspectral imaging initiatives.

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