Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) Shares Up 9.4% Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB - Get Free Report) rose 9.4% during mid-day trading 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. Approximately 18,753,453 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 1% from the average daily volume of 18,605,656 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.69.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on RKLB. Roth Capital increased their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Rocket Lab in a report on Monday, June 30th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $27.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Rocket Lab from $21.00 to $18.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Rocket Lab in a report on Monday. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Rocket Lab from $29.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Four equities 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $34.10.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Frank Klein sold 2,546 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $76,380.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,365,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,974,780. This trade represents a 0.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 sale, the director owned 1,083,053 shares in the company, valued at $28,170,208.53. This represents a 43.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,130,995 shares of company stock worth $29,686,039. Insiders own 13.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Rocket Lab

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RKLB. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Rocket Lab by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 45,403 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock valued at $1,156,000 after buying an additional 4,816 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Rocket Lab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,564,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Rocket Lab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,748,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Rocket Lab by 1,602.2% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 16,971 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock valued at $432,000 after buying an additional 15,974 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in Rocket Lab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.78% of the company's stock.

Rocket Lab Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $23.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -128.33 and a beta of 2.15. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $30.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 2.08 and a quick ratio of 1.72.

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

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.