Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) Trading Down 1.7% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Rocket Lab's stock (NASDAQ:RKLB) fell 1.7% to $45.12 with a significant drop in trading volume, indicating reduced investor activity.
• The company has received a range of analyst ratings, with five analysts giving a hold rating, seven a buy rating, and one a strong buy rating, highlighting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $35.64.
• Insider selling activity includes a director selling over 820,000 shares, contributing to a significant decline in their position and raising potential concerns about internal confidence in the stock.

Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB - Get Free Report) shares fell 1.7% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $42.32 and last traded at $45.12. 8,726,000 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 56% from the average session volume of 20,003,586 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.92.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RKLB has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Rocket Lab in a research note on Monday, June 30th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $27.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Rocket Lab from $29.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Craig Hallum initiated coverage on shares of Rocket Lab in a research note on Monday. They issued a "hold" rating and a $51.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 price target (up previously from $33.00) on shares of Rocket Lab in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Rocket Lab from $30.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rocket Lab has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $35.64.

Rocket Lab Stock Down 2.1%

The business's 50 day moving average is $35.46 and its 200 day moving average is $27.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 2.08. The stock has a market cap of $20.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -112.45 and a beta of 2.15.

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The rocket manufacturer reported ($0.12) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.02). Rocket Lab had a negative return on equity of 48.92% and a negative net margin of 44.32%. The firm had revenue of $122.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $120.74 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.09) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 32.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Rocket Lab Corporation will post -0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Rocket Lab

In other Rocket Lab news, 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 value of $212,063.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 419,569 shares in the company, valued at $14,005,213.22. This represents a 1.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Matthew Ocko sold 820,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 1,083,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,170,208.53. The trade was a 43.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,130,995 shares of company stock worth $29,686,039 in the last quarter. 13.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rocket Lab

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in Rocket Lab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $17,261,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rocket Lab by 2,186.7% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 353,522 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock valued at $6,321,000 after purchasing an additional 338,062 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Rocket Lab by 52.0% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 58,652 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock valued at $1,049,000 after purchasing an additional 20,076 shares in the last quarter. Smith Anglin Financial LLC grew its stake in Rocket Lab by 132.1% in the 1st quarter. Smith Anglin Financial LLC now owns 27,261 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock valued at $487,000 after buying an additional 15,515 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in Rocket Lab by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 525,018 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock valued at $9,387,000 after buying an additional 45,889 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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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