Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT) Cut to "Sell" at The Goldman Sachs Group

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

RCKT has been the subject of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $7.00 price objective on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday. Chardan Capital reduced their price objective on Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $46.00 to $17.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC downgraded Rocket Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $42.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $20.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rocket Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $22.46.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RCKT opened at $2.62 on Wednesday. Rocket Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $2.19 and a 1-year high of $26.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 6.05 and a quick ratio of 6.05. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $6.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.58. The company has a market capitalization of $279.78 million, a PE ratio of -0.95 and a beta of 1.02.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 13th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.56) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.58) by $0.02. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.66) EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Rocket Pharmaceuticals will post -2.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rocket Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CFO Aaron Ondrey sold 7,489 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.29, for a total transaction of $39,616.81. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 129,650 shares of the company's stock, valued at $685,848.50. This represents a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Gaurav Shah purchased 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $5.08 per share, with a total value of $101,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 792,680 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,026,814.40. This represents a 2.59% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 24.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rocket Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 99,339 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,249,000 after buying an additional 1,242 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 32,422 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 1,280 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 19,826 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 1,528 shares in the last quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 40.4% in the fourth quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC now owns 5,656 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 1,628 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 16.1% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,929 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 1,658 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.39% of the company's stock.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.