Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) Trading Up 1.8% After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Rocket Lab's stock rose 1.8% to $65.42 after Morgan Stanley increased its price target from $20.00 to $68.00, maintaining an equal weight rating on the stock.
• Despite the positive outlook from some analysts, Weiss Ratings issued a "sell (d-)" rating, while other firms, including Bank of America and Citigroup, raised their price targets to between $50.00 and $54.00.
• Insider transactions revealed that CEO Peter Beck sold over 1.4 million shares, resulting in a substantial decrease in his ownership stake, which now stands at 2.5 million shares.

Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB - Get Free Report) shares rose 1.8% during mid-day trading on Monday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $20.00 to $68.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Rocket Lab traded as high as $70.44 and last traded at $65.42. Approximately 25,956,395 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 24% from the average daily volume of 20,961,625 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.26.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Rocket Lab in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America increased 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. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 target price (up from $33.00) on shares of Rocket Lab in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on Rocket Lab from $35.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on Rocket Lab from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rocket Lab has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rocket Lab news, insider Frank Klein sold 4,286 shares of Rocket Lab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.72, for a total value of $204,527.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,316,005 shares in the company, valued at $62,799,758.60. The trade was a 0.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Peter Beck sold 1,436,442 shares of Rocket Lab stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,500,000 shares in the company, valued at $121,875,000. This represents a 36.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,406,361 shares of company stock worth $267,483,973 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 11.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rocket Lab

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rocket Lab during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Rocket Lab by 109.5% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 796 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Rocket Lab by 181.1% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,903 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 1,226 shares in the last quarter. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC boosted its stake in Rocket Lab by 100.0% during the first quarter. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in Rocket Lab during the second quarter valued at about $36,000. 71.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rocket Lab Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $48.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.84. The firm has a market cap of $31.66 billion, a P/E ratio of -145.38 and a beta of 2.14. The company has a quick ratio of 2.33, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The rocket manufacturer reported ($0.13) 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 48.14%. The firm had revenue of $144.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $135.42 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.08) earnings per share. Rocket Lab's quarterly revenue was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Rocket Lab has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Rocket Lab Corporation will post -0.38 EPS for the current year.

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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