Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) Shares Down 5% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Shares fell 5% to $68.37 on Thursday (intraday low $68.28), with 17.6M shares traded—about 18% below the average session volume.
• Analyst coverage is mixed but the consensus is a “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $75.92 (Bank of America raised its target to $120), while insiders sold roughly $281 million of stock in the past three months, leaving insiders with 11.9% ownership.

Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB - Get Free Report) fell 5% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $68.28 and last traded at $68.37. 17,584,610 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 18% from the average session volume of 21,422,098 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.96.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on RKLB shares. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Rocket Lab in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research cut Rocket Lab from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Citizens Jmp restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Rocket Lab in a report on Friday, February 27th. KeyCorp downgraded Rocket Lab from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Rocket Lab from $60.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $75.92.

Rocket Lab Stock Down 5.0%

The firm has a market cap of $36.52 billion, a PE ratio of -184.78 and a beta of 2.20. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 4.08 and a quick ratio of 3.61.

Insider Activity

In other Rocket Lab news, insider Frank Klein sold 36,768 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.95, for a total value of $2,645,457.60. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,088,237 shares in the company, valued at $78,298,652.15. This trade represents a 3.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Merline Saintil sold 18,126 shares of Rocket Lab stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total value of $1,360,175.04. Following the sale, the director owned 261,903 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,653,201.12. This trade represents a 6.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 4,362,428 shares of company stock worth $281,055,579 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 11.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RKLB. Aventura Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Rocket Lab in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Rocket Lab during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in shares of Rocket Lab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Rocket Lab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Rocket Lab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.78% of the company's stock.

Rocket Lab Company Profile

Rocket Lab is an aerospace company that provides launch services, spacecraft, and space systems for commercial and government customers. The company's primary launch vehicle is Electron, a small-lift orbital rocket designed to deploy small satellites and rideshare payloads to low Earth orbit. Rocket Lab also develops and manufactures the Rutherford engine, noted for its electric-pump-fed design and additive-manufactured components, which powers Electron and supports the company's propulsion capabilities.

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