Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) Shares Down 1.1% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Rocket Lab's stock (NASDAQ:RKLB) experienced a decline of 1.1%, trading as low as $63.70 before closing at $66.27 with a trading volume 20% lower than average.
• Analyst ratings for Rocket Lab vary; Bank of America raised its price target from $30 to $50 while Weiss Ratings issued a "sell" rating, resulting in an average target price of $51.75 across analysts.
• Insider trading activity included significant sales by CFO Adam C. Spice and CEO Peter Beck, who sold a combined total of over 2.3 million shares, indicating a 29.82% and 36.49% reduction in their ownership, respectively.

Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB - Get Free Report) fell 1.1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $63.70 and last traded at $66.27. 16,774,834 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 20% from the average session volume of 21,035,688 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on RKLB. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Rocket Lab from $30.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Baird R W raised shares of Rocket Lab to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of Rocket Lab in a report on Wednesday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $83.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 price target (up from $33.00) on shares of Rocket Lab in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Rocket Lab in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $51.75.

Rocket Lab Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $50.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -147.27 and a beta of 2.14. The company has a quick ratio of 2.33, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The rocket manufacturer reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $144.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $135.42 million. Rocket Lab had a negative return on equity of 48.14% and a negative net margin of 45.87%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.08) earnings per share. Rocket Lab has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts expect that Rocket Lab Corporation will post -0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Adam C. Spice sold 874,588 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.01, for a total value of $41,988,969.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,057,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $98,799,250.89. This represents a 29.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Peter Beck sold 1,436,442 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.75, for a total transaction of $70,026,547.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,500,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $121,875,000. This trade represents a 36.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,406,361 shares of company stock valued at $267,483,973 in the last 90 days. 11.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Rocket Lab in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Rocket Lab by 109.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 796 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Rocket Lab by 181.1% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,903 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 1,226 shares in the last quarter. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC boosted its stake in Rocket Lab by 100.0% in the first quarter. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Rocket Lab during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 71.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Rocket Lab Company Profile

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.

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