Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) Shares Up 6.7% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Shares of Rocket Lab rose 6.7% to about $44.72 on Wednesday, with analysts holding a mixed but overall "Moderate Buy" consensus and an average price target of $58.17 (some firms have targets up to $75).
• The company beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates (EPS -$0.03 vs -$0.05 expected; revenue $155.1M vs $152.45M), with revenue up 48% year-over-year, though Rocket Lab remains unprofitable (net margin -35.6%, negative ROE).
• There has been significant insider selling recently—CEO Peter Beck and a director sold large blocks in September, and insiders sold about 5.57 million shares (~$274M) over the last three months, leaving insiders owning 11.9% of the company.

Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB - Get Free Report) shares were up 6.7% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $44.74 and last traded at $44.72. Approximately 13,765,767 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 33% from the average daily volume of 20,536,898 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.90.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on RKLB shares. Citigroup reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Rocket Lab in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Rocket Lab in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Rocket Lab in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Baird R W upgraded Rocket Lab to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Rocket Lab from $50.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $58.17.

Rocket Lab Stock Up 6.7%

The firm has a market capitalization of $23.89 billion, a PE ratio of -117.68 and a beta of 2.20. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 3.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.65.

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The rocket manufacturer reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $155.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $152.45 million. Rocket Lab had a negative net margin of 35.64% and a negative return on equity of 27.26%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 48.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.10) EPS. Analysts forecast that Rocket Lab Corporation will post -0.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Rocket Lab

In other news, CEO Peter Beck sold 1,436,442 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.75, for a total value of $70,026,547.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,500,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $121,875,000. This represents a 36.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Matthew Ocko sold 1,873,097 shares of Rocket Lab stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.20, for a total value of $90,283,275.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 541,526 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,101,553.20. The trade was a 77.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 5,573,532 shares of company stock valued at $274,301,358 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 11.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Rocket Lab

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Rocket Lab in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rocket Lab during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Rocket Lab by 352.5% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 543 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new position in Rocket Lab during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new stake in Rocket Lab in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 71.78% of the company's stock.

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.

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