Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) Trading 9.4% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB - Get Free Report) traded up 9.4% on Thursday after Bank of America raised their price target on the stock from $30.00 to $50.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. Rocket Lab traded as high as $51.97 and last traded at $52.17. 18,753,453 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 1% from the average session volume of 18,605,656 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.69.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on RKLB. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Rocket Lab from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Rocket Lab from $21.00 to $18.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Rocket Lab from $29.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Rocket Lab in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Rocket Lab in a research report on Monday, June 30th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $27.00 price target on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $34.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Matthew Ocko sold 820,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.01, for a total value of $21,328,200.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,083,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,170,208.53. The trade was a 43.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Arjun Kampani sold 5,194 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $155,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 530,230 shares in the company, valued at $15,906,900. The trade was a 0.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,130,995 shares of company stock valued at $29,686,039 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 11.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Rocket Lab

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sandy Spring Bank bought a new stake in shares of Rocket Lab in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Rocket Lab by 491.9% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,095 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 910 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Rocket Lab by 36.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,518 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Rocket Lab by 118.1% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,588 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 860 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB bought a new stake in shares of Rocket Lab in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors own 71.78% of the company's stock.

Rocket Lab Stock Performance

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's 50-day moving average is $31.48 and its 200 day moving average is $25.83. The firm has a market cap of $23.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -128.48 and a beta of 2.15.

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The rocket manufacturer reported ($0.12) earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $122.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $120.74 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.09) earnings per share. Rocket Lab's revenue for the quarter was up 32.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Rocket Lab Corporation will post -0.38 earnings per share 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.