Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT) Raised to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Rocket Pharmaceuticals from “sell” to “hold,” while analysts overall also rate the stock “Hold,” with an average price target of $8.71.
• Rocket shares opened at $3.11, near the lower end of their 52-week range of $2.53 to $5.45. The company reported a quarterly loss of $0.42 per share, slightly worse than the $0.41 consensus estimate.
• Institutional investors own 98.39% of the company, with several major firms increasing their positions; meanwhile, insiders sold 83,733 shares worth roughly $275,307 over the past three months.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on RCKT. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $11.00 price objective on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $8.71.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $3.11 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $339.58 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.66 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 6.12, a current ratio of 6.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $3.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.62. Rocket Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $2.53 and a 52 week high of $5.45.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.42) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.41) by ($0.01). During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.56) earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Rocket Pharmaceuticals will post -1.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rocket Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Gaurav Shah sold 55,684 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.09, for a total transaction of $172,063.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,061,724 shares in the company, valued at $3,280,727.16. This trade represents a 4.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Sarbani Chaudhuri sold 17,650 shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.84, for a total value of $67,776.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 267,510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,027,238.40. The trade was a 6.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 83,733 shares of company stock valued at $275,307. 21.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rocket Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 148.4% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 163,622 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,091,000 after purchasing an additional 97,758 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 121.8% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 747,147 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $4,983,000 after buying an additional 410,238 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth about $189,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 24.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 995,690 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $6,641,000 after buying an additional 192,905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,030,891 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $4,976,000 after buying an additional 36,847 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.39% of the company's stock.

About Rocket Pharmaceuticals

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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