Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT) Stock Price Crosses Below 50-Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Key Points

• Rocket Pharmaceuticals shares fell below their 50-day moving average: The stock traded as low as $2.51 and last changed hands at $2.61, below its 50-day average of $3.43.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: The consensus rating is “Hold,” with an average price target of $8.62; targets from individual firms range from $9 to $15, while some ratings remain negative.
• Institutional ownership is high, while insiders have sold shares: Hedge funds and other institutions own 98.39% of the company, including new stakes from BlackRock and Monaco Asset Management, while insiders sold 125,977 shares worth $432,273 over the past three months.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RCKT - Get Free Report)'s stock price crossed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $3.43 and traded as low as $2.51. Rocket Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $2.61, with a volume of 2,074,041 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on RCKT. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Chardan Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $11.00 target price on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upgraded Rocket Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $9.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Rocket Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $8.62.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $286.53 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.35 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 9.24 and a current ratio of 9.24.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The biotechnology company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.22. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.62) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rocket Pharmaceuticals news, General Counsel Martin Wilson sold 75,364 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.40, for a total transaction of $256,237.60. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 598,489 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,034,862.60. The trade was a 11.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, COO Christopher Stevens sold 36,658 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.50, for a total transaction of $128,303.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 505,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,770,244. This trade represents a 6.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders sold 125,977 shares of company stock valued at $432,273. 21.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RCKT. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $33,940,000. Monaco Asset Management SAM purchased a new stake in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $8,483,000. Maverick Capital Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 42.0% in the 1st quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 3,567,372 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $12,771,000 after buying an additional 1,054,262 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,512,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,506,000. 98.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Rocket Pharmaceuticals

Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on developing gene therapies for rare and devastating diseases. The company uses lentiviral and adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector platforms to deliver genetic material intended to address the underlying causes of inherited disorders, with research programs spanning hematology, immunology, metabolic disease and cardiac conditions.

Rocket's pipeline has included RP-L102 for Fanconi anemia, a rare inherited bone marrow failure disorder; RP-L201 for leukocyte adhesion deficiency-I, an immune-system disorder; and RP-L301 for pyruvate kinase deficiency, a rare red blood cell disorder.

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