Needham & Company LLC Reiterates "Buy" Rating for Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB)

Key Points

• Needham & Company LLC has reaffirmed a "buy" rating for Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) and increased its target price from $45.00 to $55.00, indicating a potential upside of 22.05% from the stock's previous close.
• Rocket Lab reported a 35.9% increase in revenue year-over-year, generating $144.50 million in the last quarter, although it missed earnings expectations by posting a loss of ($0.13) per share.
• Currently, Rocket Lab holds a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" among analysts, with a mix of buy and hold ratings, and an average target price of $42.27.

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reissued by Needham & Company LLC in a note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat reports. They presently have a $55.00 price objective on the rocket manufacturer's stock, up from their prior price objective of $45.00. Needham & Company LLC's price target would indicate a potential upside of 23.07% from the company's previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Craig Hallum started coverage on shares of Rocket Lab in a research report on Monday, July 28th. They set a "hold" rating and a $51.00 price objective on the stock. Roth Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Rocket Lab from $25.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Rocket Lab from $34.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Rocket Lab from $30.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Rocket Lab in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.27.

Rocket Lab Trading Up 1.1%

Rocket Lab stock opened at $44.69 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $37.55 and a 200 day moving average of $27.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -99.31 and a beta of 2.17. Rocket Lab has a 12-month low of $5.03 and a 12-month high of $53.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The rocket manufacturer reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by ($0.06). Rocket Lab had a negative return on equity of 56.25% and a negative net margin of 45.87%. The firm had revenue of $144.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $135.42 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.08) earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Rocket Lab will post -0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rocket Lab

In related news, insider Arjun Kampani sold 5,194 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $155,820.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 530,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,906,900. The trade was a 0.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Merline Saintil sold 6,353 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.38, for a total transaction of $212,063.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 419,569 shares in the company, valued at $14,005,213.22. This represents a 1.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,130,995 shares of company stock worth $29,686,039. Company insiders own 11.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in Rocket Lab by 27.4% during the second quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 223,486 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock valued at $7,994,000 after acquiring an additional 48,090 shares during the last quarter. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. increased its position in Rocket Lab by 4.3% during the second quarter. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. now owns 98,100 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock valued at $3,509,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in Rocket Lab by 43.4% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 76,040 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock valued at $2,720,000 after acquiring an additional 23,019 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its position in Rocket Lab by 62.0% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 212,907 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock valued at $7,616,000 after acquiring an additional 81,474 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Rocket Lab by 31.1% during the second quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 71,385 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock valued at $2,553,000 after acquiring an additional 16,948 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.78% of the company's stock.

About Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab USA, Inc, a space company, provides launch services and space systems solutions for the space and defense industries. The company provides launch services, spacecraft design services, spacecraft components, spacecraft manufacturing, and other spacecraft and on-orbit management solutions; and constellation management services, as well as designs and manufactures small and medium-class rockets.