Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) Stock Price Down 7.4% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Rocket Lab's stock price fell by 7.4% to a last trading price of $60.57 after trading as low as $58.41.
• Analyst ratings for Rocket Lab show a consensus of Moderate Buy, with a target price averaging $51.75, supported by multiple recent upgrades.
• Insider selling has been significant, with executives selling over 5.4 million shares totaling around $267 million in the last three months.

Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB - Get Free Report) shares dropped 7.4% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $58.41 and last traded at $60.57. Approximately 22,041,814 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 5% from the average daily volume of 21,047,348 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.40.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RKLB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Rocket Lab from $34.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Rocket Lab in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $83.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price target on Rocket Lab from $30.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Rocket Lab in a report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 target price (up previously from $33.00) on shares of Rocket Lab in a report on Monday, July 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $51.75.

Rocket Lab Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $29.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -134.58 and a beta of 2.14. The company has a fifty day moving average of $51.57 and a 200 day moving average of $38.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 2.33.

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The rocket manufacturer reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $144.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $135.42 million. Rocket Lab had a negative net margin of 45.87% and a negative return on equity of 48.14%. Rocket Lab's quarterly revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.08) EPS. Rocket Lab has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Rocket Lab Corporation will post -0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rocket Lab news, CFO Adam C. Spice sold 874,588 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.01, for a total value of $41,988,969.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 2,057,889 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $98,799,250.89. This represents a 29.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Matthew Ocko sold 1,873,097 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.20, for a total value of $90,283,275.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 541,526 shares in the company, valued at $26,101,553.20. This represents a 77.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,406,361 shares of company stock valued at $267,483,973 in the last three months. Insiders own 11.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new position in Rocket Lab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $192,918,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Rocket Lab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $164,751,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Rocket Lab by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,029,546 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock worth $715,728,000 after purchasing an additional 3,833,969 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Rocket Lab by 67.0% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,242,304 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock worth $223,287,000 after purchasing an additional 2,504,054 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marex Group plc purchased a new position in Rocket Lab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $74,359,000. 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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