Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) Shares Down 4.9% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Shares down 4.9% intraday to $43.31 (low $42.23) on Monday with 17.45 million shares traded (about 16% below average); market cap is about $20.96 billion and the 50/200-day moving averages are $55.82/$43.19.
• Wall Street consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $57.33 (ratings mix: 2 Strong Buy, 7 Buy, 5 Hold, 1 Sell), though individual targets and views vary by broker.
• Rocket Lab slightly beat the quarter (EPS -$0.03 vs. -$0.05 est., revenue $155.08M vs. $152.45M) with revenue up 48% YoY but still unprofitable, and insiders sold roughly 5.41 million shares (~$267M) last quarter, leaving insiders with 11.9% ownership.

Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB - Get Free Report) shares traded down 4.9% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $42.23 and last traded at $43.31. 17,454,612 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 16% from the average session volume of 20,817,816 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.54.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on RKLB shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Rocket Lab in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Rocket Lab from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Rocket Lab to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Craig Hallum began coverage on shares of Rocket Lab in a research report on Monday, July 28th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on Rocket Lab from $35.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.33.

Rocket Lab Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $20.96 billion, a PE ratio of -113.97 and a beta of 2.16. The firm's 50-day moving average is $55.82 and its 200 day moving average is $43.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 3.18.

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The rocket manufacturer reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.02. Rocket Lab had a negative net margin of 35.64% and a negative return on equity of 27.26%. The company had revenue of $155.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $152.45 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.10) EPS. Rocket Lab's revenue for the quarter was up 48.0% on a year-over-year basis. Rocket Lab has set its Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Rocket Lab Corporation will post -0.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Arjun Kampani sold 9,416 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 489,629 shares in the company, valued at $23,355,303.30. This represents a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Matthew Ocko sold 1,873,097 shares of Rocket Lab stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.20, for a total transaction of $90,283,275.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 541,526 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,101,553.20. This trade represents a 77.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 5,406,361 shares of company stock worth $267,483,973 over the last quarter. 11.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rocket Lab

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in RKLB. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Rocket Lab during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in Rocket Lab during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Rocket Lab by 352.5% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 543 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rocket Lab in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rocket Lab by 109.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 796 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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