Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) Shares Down 4.2% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Rocket Lab's shares fell by 4.2% during trading, with the stock price dipping to $45.21 before recovering slightly to $46.63.
• Analysts generally maintain a positive outlook on Rocket Lab, with one "Strong Buy" rating, seven "Buy" ratings, and a current average price target of $42.27.
• In recent insider trading, CFO Adam C. Spice sold a significant number of shares, leading to concerns as corporate insiders sold a total of 5.4 million shares in the last quarter.

Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB - Get Free Report) shares fell 4.2% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $45.21 and last traded at $46.63. 22,275,376 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 9% from the average session volume of 20,493,287 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.69.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on RKLB. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Rocket Lab in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Craig Hallum assumed coverage on shares of Rocket Lab in a research note on Monday, July 28th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 price target (up previously from $33.00) on shares of Rocket Lab in a research note on Monday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Rocket Lab in a research report on Monday, June 30th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $27.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Rocket Lab from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $42.27.

Rocket Lab Trading Down 4.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 2.33 and a current ratio of 2.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.57 billion, a P/E ratio of -103.62 and a beta of 2.17. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $46.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.59.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Adam C. Spice sold 874,588 shares of Rocket Lab stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.01, for a total transaction of $41,988,969.88. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,057,889 shares in the company, valued at $98,799,250.89. This trade represents a 29.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Arjun Kampani sold 9,416 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.70, for a total transaction of $449,143.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 489,629 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,355,303.30. The trade was a 1.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,406,361 shares of company stock worth $267,483,973 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 11.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Rocket Lab by 118.1% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,588 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 860 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Rocket Lab by 109.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 796 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB bought a new stake in shares of Rocket Lab in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Rocket Lab by 181.1% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,903 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC increased its stake in shares of Rocket Lab by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.78% of the company's stock.

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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