Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) Stock Price Up 5.4% - Still a Buy?

Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 5.4% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $28.07 and last traded at $27.85. Approximately 18,381,728 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 7% from the average daily volume of 17,135,498 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.42.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on RKLB. TD Cowen raised shares of Rocket Lab to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Rocket Lab from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Rocket Lab from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Rocket Lab from $29.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Rocket Lab from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Five 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 presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $28.10.

Rocket Lab Stock Up 7.9%

The stock has a market capitalization of $13.62 billion, a PE ratio of -75.10 and a beta of 2.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 2.08 and a quick ratio of 1.72. The business's fifty day moving average price is $24.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.88.

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The rocket manufacturer reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $122.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $120.74 million. Rocket Lab had a negative net margin of 44.32% and a negative return on equity of 48.92%. Rocket Lab's quarterly revenue was up 32.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.09) earnings per share. On average, 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, Director Matthew Ocko sold 820,000 shares of Rocket Lab stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.01, for a total transaction of $21,328,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,083,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,170,208.53. The trade was a 43.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Arjun Kampani sold 5,194 shares of Rocket Lab stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $155,820.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 530,230 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,906,900. This trade represents a 0.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,118,289 shares of company stock valued at $29,287,134 over the last quarter. 13.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rocket Lab

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Rocket Lab by 10.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,029,546 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock valued at $715,728,000 after acquiring an additional 3,833,969 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Rocket Lab by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,285,693 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock valued at $211,084,000 after acquiring an additional 32,658 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Rocket Lab by 56.1% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,738,250 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock valued at $66,840,000 after acquiring an additional 1,343,518 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Rocket Lab by 30,853.3% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,696,136 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock valued at $94,141,000 after acquiring an additional 3,684,195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Rocket Lab by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,227,617 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock valued at $82,207,000 after acquiring an additional 281,339 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.