Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RCKT) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Rocket Pharmaceuticals saw a 32.1% increase in short interest, reaching 15,490,000 shares as of August 31st.
• The company's stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average target price of $16.73, despite varied analyst ratings.
• Insider activity included Director Elisabeth Bjork purchasing 10,000 shares, indicating increased confidence in the company, while General Counsel Martin Wilson sold 12,109 shares.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RCKT - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 15,490,000 shares, a growth of 32.1% from the August 15th total of 11,730,000 shares. Currently, 19.1% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 4,160,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days. Based on an average daily volume of 4,160,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days. Currently, 19.1% of the company's stock are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rocket Pharmaceuticals news, General Counsel Martin Wilson sold 12,109 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.02, for a total transaction of $36,569.18. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 137,054 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $413,903.08. The trade was a 8.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan David Schwartz sold 11,161 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.02, for a total value of $33,706.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 224,094 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $676,763.88. This represents a 4.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,927 shares of company stock valued at $111,413. Corporate insiders own 24.76% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rocket Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RCKT. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 19,404 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 3,230 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 43.4% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 63,778 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $802,000 after acquiring an additional 19,310 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 177,548 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,228,000 after acquiring an additional 3,985 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $151,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 28.3% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 22,847 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 5,035 shares in the last quarter. 98.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on RCKT shares. Evercore ISI downgraded Rocket Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $5.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Leerink Partners restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $8.00 price objective (down from $37.00) on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $16.73.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 3.2%

NASDAQ:RCKT traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $3.07. 3,411,062 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,362,926. The company has a quick ratio of 6.39, a current ratio of 6.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $331.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.22 and a beta of 0.62. The firm's 50 day moving average is $3.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.68. Rocket Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $2.19 and a 52 week high of $21.29.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.59) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.57) by ($0.02). During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.74) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Rocket Pharmaceuticals will post -2.83 earnings per share for the current year.

About Rocket Pharmaceuticals

Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a late-stage biotechnology company that focuses on developing gene therapies for rare and devastating diseases. It has three clinical-stage ex vivo lentiviral vector programs for fanconi anemia, a genetic defect in the bone marrow that reduces production of blood cells or promotes the production of faulty blood cells; leukocyte adhesion deficiency-I, a genetic disorder that causes the immune system to malfunction; and pyruvate kinase deficiency, a rare red blood cell autosomal recessive disorder that results in chronic non-spherocytic hemolytic anemia.