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

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 26.5% in March to 18,580,923 shares, equal to about 22.6% of the stock and a short-interest ratio of 2.9 days.
• Company insiders sold 29,415 shares last quarter — including General Counsel Martin Wilson and CEO Gaurav Shah — leaving insiders with 24.76% ownership.
• Analysts are mixed: MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of "Hold" with a consensus price target of $13.86, despite the stock trading near $3.84 and ratings ranging from strong-buy to sell.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RCKT - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 18,580,923 shares, a growth of 26.5% from the March 15th total of 14,693,507 shares. Approximately 22.6% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 6,423,862 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on RCKT. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $5.00 price target on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Lifesci Capital upgraded shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Rocket Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $13.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Martin Wilson sold 12,253 shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.31, for a total value of $40,557.43. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 683,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,261,974.56. The trade was a 1.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Gaurav Shah sold 12,279 shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.31, for a total transaction of $40,643.49. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,052,045 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,482,268.95. This trade represents a 1.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 29,415 shares of company stock worth $97,398 in the last quarter. Insiders own 24.76% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rocket Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RCKT. Prudential Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at $25,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 94.4% during the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 12,202 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 5,926 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.39% of the company's stock.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

RCKT stock traded down $0.05 during trading on Thursday, hitting $3.84. 665,708 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,210,024. The company has a quick ratio of 6.38, a current ratio of 6.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Rocket Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $2.19 and a 52 week high of $8.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $4.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $418.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.91 and a beta of 0.57.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.38) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.04. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.62) EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Rocket Pharmaceuticals will post -2.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing gene therapies for rare, inherited pediatric diseases. The company employs a proprietary adeno-associated virus (AAV) and lentiviral vector platform to deliver functional copies of genes in patients with genetic deficiencies. Its programs target a spectrum of disorders, including Fanconi anemia, leukocyte adhesion deficiency type I and Danon disease, with the goal of delivering one-time treatments that address the underlying causes of disease rather than merely managing symptoms.

The company's pipeline comprises multiple product candidates in various stages of development.

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