Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) Stock Price Up 5.7% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Rocket Lab's shares rose 5.7% during mid-day trading, reaching a high of $44.02 before closing at $43.92, although trading volume declined by 67% from the average.
• A number of analysts have revised their price targets for Rocket Lab, with Stifel Nicolaus setting a target at $55.00, while the average price target now stands at $42.27 with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Despite **missing earnings estimates** with a reported EPS of ($0.13), Rocket Lab experienced 35.9% revenue growth year-over-year, reporting $144.50 million in revenue.

Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 5.7% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $44.02 and last traded at $43.92. Approximately 6,607,819 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 19,870,721 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.53.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on RKLB shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Rocket Lab from $30.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of Rocket Lab from $35.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Craig Hallum initiated coverage on shares of Rocket Lab in a research note on Monday, July 28th. They set a "hold" rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company. Roth Capital upped their price objective 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. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 price objective (up previously from $33.00) on shares of Rocket Lab in a research note on Monday, July 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $42.27.

Rocket Lab Stock Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average is $40.74 and its 200-day moving average is $28.80. The stock has a market cap of $21.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -98.62 and a beta of 2.17. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB - Get Free Report) last posted 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). The business had revenue of $144.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $135.42 million. Rocket Lab had a negative return on equity of 48.14% and a negative net margin of 45.87%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.08) EPS. Rocket Lab has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, analysts expect that Rocket Lab Corporation will post -0.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Rocket Lab news, Director Matthew Ocko sold 820,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.01, for a total value of $21,328,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,083,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,170,208.53. This trade represents a 43.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Merline Saintil sold 6,353 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.38, for a total transaction of $212,063.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 419,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,005,213.22. This trade represents a 1.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,130,995 shares of company stock worth $29,686,039 over the last three months. Insiders own 11.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rocket Lab

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Rocket Lab during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $311,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Rocket Lab during the second quarter worth $589,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Rocket Lab by 1,000.0% during the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,500 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock worth $197,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Marex Group plc bought a new position in Rocket Lab during the second quarter worth $74,359,000. Finally, Tactive Advisors LLC bought a new position in Rocket Lab during the second quarter worth $323,000. 71.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.