Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $35.66, but opened at $36.98. Rocket Lab shares last traded at $36.12, with a volume of 4,612,318 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Rocket Lab from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Rocket Lab from $21.00 to $18.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Rocket Lab from $29.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Rocket Lab from $29.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Roth Capital increased their price target on shares of Rocket Lab from $25.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.40.

Rocket Lab Trading Down 0.7%

The business's 50 day moving average price is $27.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.83. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $17.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -96.03 and a beta of 2.15.

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The rocket manufacturer reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $122.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $120.74 million. Rocket Lab had a negative net margin of 44.32% and a negative return on equity of 48.92%. The business's revenue was up 32.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.09) EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Rocket Lab Corporation will post -0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Rocket Lab

In related news, insider Frank Klein sold 2,546 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $76,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,365,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,974,780. The trade was a 0.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Arjun Kampani sold 5,194 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $155,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 530,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,906,900. This represents a 0.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,130,995 shares of company stock valued at $29,686,039. Company insiders own 13.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rocket Lab

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Rocket Lab by 10.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,029,546 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock worth $715,728,000 after purchasing an additional 3,833,969 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Rocket Lab by 30,853.3% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,696,136 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock valued at $94,141,000 after purchasing an additional 3,684,195 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP purchased a new stake in Rocket Lab in the fourth quarter valued at $72,623,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new stake in Rocket Lab in the fourth quarter valued at $56,977,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new stake in Rocket Lab in the fourth quarter valued at $47,074,000. 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.