Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) Stock Price Up 4.2% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Rocket Lab's stock increased by 4.2%, trading at $49.81, following an active session that saw nearly 23 million shares change hands.
• Several brokerages issued positive reports, with Cantor Fitzgerald raising their target price from $35 to $54 and most analysts rating the stock as a "Moderate Buy."
• Insider activity saw significant share sales, with Director Matthew Ocko selling over 1.8 million shares, indicating a 77.57% decrease in his ownership position.

Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 4.2% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $50.26 and last traded at $49.81. 22,902,571 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 13% from the average session volume of 20,328,684 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.79.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Rocket Lab from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Rocket Lab from $34.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Craig Hallum assumed coverage on Rocket Lab in a research note on Monday, July 28th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $51.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Rocket Lab in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective (up previously from $33.00) on shares of Rocket Lab in a research note on Monday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rocket Lab currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.27.

Rocket Lab Price Performance

The business's fifty day simple moving average is $46.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $25.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -117.90 and a beta of 2.17.

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The rocket manufacturer reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $144.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $135.42 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.08) EPS. The company's revenue was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Rocket Lab has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Rocket Lab Corporation will post -0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rocket Lab

In other Rocket Lab news, CEO Peter Beck sold 1,436,442 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.75, for a total transaction of $70,026,547.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,500,000 shares in the company, valued at $121,875,000. This represents a 36.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Arjun Kampani sold 9,416 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.70, for a total transaction of $449,143.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 489,629 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,355,303.30. This represents a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 5,406,361 shares of company stock valued at $267,483,973. 11.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rocket Lab

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new position in Rocket Lab in the second quarter worth about $192,918,000. Sender Co & Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Rocket Lab during the first quarter valued at approximately $621,000. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Rocket Lab by 6.4% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,128,536 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock valued at $38,057,000 after purchasing an additional 128,907 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Rocket Lab by 186.0% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 1,397,342 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock valued at $24,984,000 after purchasing an additional 908,808 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Rocket Lab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,261,000. 71.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.