Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) Shares Down 2.8% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Rocket Lab's stock price decreased by 2.8%, trading at $43.44, with a significant drop in volume at 11,363,493 shares, 43% lower than its average.
• Equities research analysts have shown confidence in Rocket Lab, with Citigroup raising its price target from $33.00 to $50.00 and Needham & Company increasing theirs from $45.00 to $55.00.
• The company reported a revenue of $144.50 million in its recent quarterly earnings, surpassing analyst estimates but faced a loss of ($0.13) EPS, which missed the consensus of ($0.07).

Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB - Get Free Report) shares dropped 2.8% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $41.51 and last traded at $43.44. Approximately 11,363,493 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 43% from the average daily volume of 19,932,818 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.69.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on Rocket Lab from $35.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Rocket Lab in a research report on Monday, June 30th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Rocket Lab from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Roth Capital boosted their target price on shares of Rocket Lab from $25.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $55.00 price target (up from $45.00) on shares of Rocket Lab in a report on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rocket Lab presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $42.27.

Rocket Lab Stock Down 2.7%

The firm has a market cap of $20.21 billion, a PE ratio of -97.44 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. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.91.

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 business had revenue of $144.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $135.42 million. Rocket Lab had a negative net margin of 45.87% and a negative return on equity of 56.25%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.08) earnings per share. Analysts expect that Rocket Lab Corporation will post -0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Merline Saintil sold 6,353 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.41, for a total value of $186,841.73. Following the sale, the director directly owned 425,922 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,526,366.02. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Frank Klein sold 44,885 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.66, for a total value of $1,196,634.10. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,370,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,529,265.40. This represents a 3.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,130,995 shares of company stock valued at $29,686,039 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 11.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rocket Lab

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in RKLB. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Rocket Lab by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,747 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock valued at $554,000 after buying an additional 696 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Rocket Lab by 30,853.3% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,696,136 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock valued at $94,141,000 after buying an additional 3,684,195 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in Rocket Lab by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 22,696 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock valued at $532,000 after acquiring an additional 1,742 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Rocket Lab by 41.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,394,732 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock valued at $60,994,000 after acquiring an additional 697,574 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC boosted its position in Rocket Lab by 46.2% during the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 18,969 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock valued at $483,000 after acquiring an additional 5,991 shares in the last quarter. 71.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.