Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) Stock Price Down 1.2% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Rocket Lab's stock price decreased by 1.2% during trading, closing at $44.49 after hitting a low of $44.03, with trading volume down 61% from its average.
• Research analysts are generally optimistic, with price targets raised by several firms, including a new target of $55.00 from Needham & Company and Stifel Nicolaus.
• Despite a loss in EPS of ($0.13) for the last quarter, Rocket Lab's revenue increased by 35.9% year-over-year, surpassing analysts' expectations.

Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 1.2% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $44.03 and last traded at $44.49. Approximately 7,784,363 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 19,952,521 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.02.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on RKLB shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price target (up previously from $45.00) on shares of Rocket Lab in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Rocket Lab from $34.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of Rocket Lab from $35.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 price target (up previously from $33.00) on shares of Rocket Lab in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Craig Hallum initiated coverage on shares of Rocket Lab in a research note on Monday, July 28th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.27.

Rocket Lab Price Performance

The business's 50-day simple moving average is $37.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.91. The stock has a market cap of $20.18 billion, a PE ratio of -97.54 and a beta of 2.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 56.25%. The firm had revenue of $144.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $135.42 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.08) EPS. Rocket Lab's revenue was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Rocket Lab Corporation will post -0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rocket Lab

In other 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 transaction of $21,328,200.00. Following the sale, the director owned 1,083,053 shares in the company, valued at $28,170,208.53. This represents a 43.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Frank Klein sold 2,546 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $76,380.00. Following the sale, the insider 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,130,995 shares of company stock worth $29,686,039 in the last ninety days. 11.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rocket Lab

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Rocket Lab by 85.2% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,621,381 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock worth $57,997,000 after buying an additional 745,870 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Rocket Lab by 15.8% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 466,809 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock worth $16,698,000 after buying an additional 63,569 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in Rocket Lab during the 2nd quarter worth $2,377,000. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in Rocket Lab by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 741,800 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock worth $26,534,000 after buying an additional 89,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in Rocket Lab by 28.6% during the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 109,400 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock worth $3,913,000 after acquiring an additional 24,300 shares during the period. 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.

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