Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT) Shares Down 5.6% - Time to Sell?

Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RCKT - Get Free Report) shares fell 5.6% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $6.21 and last traded at $6.20. 803,557 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 47% from the average session volume of 1,505,840 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.56.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on RCKT shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Chardan Capital boosted their price objective on Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.73.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 4.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $669.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.28 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $6.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.04. The company has a current ratio of 6.05, a quick ratio of 6.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 13th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.58) by $0.02. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.66) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -2.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rocket Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Kinnari Patel acquired 21,099 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $4.70 per share, for a total transaction of $99,165.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 26,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $125,837.80. This represents a 371.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gaurav Shah purchased 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $5.08 per share, for a total transaction of $101,600.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 792,680 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,026,814.40. This trade represents a 2.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 24.76% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 33,166.7% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,996 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,990 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 319.8% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,916 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 3,745 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 51.9% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 5,385 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 1,840 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 159.6% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,475 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 3,366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtus ETF Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 40.4% during the fourth quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC now owns 5,656 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 1,628 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.39% of the company's stock.

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.

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