Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT) Shares Pass Below 200 Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Key Points

• Rocket Pharmaceuticals shares slipped below their 200-day moving average, trading as low as $3.62 and last changing hands at $3.72, down about 4.9% on the day.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but cautious: the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” with an average price target of $8.88, while recent moves included buy reaffirmations from Chardan and Bank of America and a downgrade from Weiss Ratings.
• The company reported a slightly wider-than-expected quarterly loss, posting EPS of -$0.42 versus the -$0.41 estimate, and insiders have sold shares recently even as hedge funds and other institutions remain heavy owners.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RCKT - Get Free Report)'s stock price passed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $3.65 and traded as low as $3.62. Rocket Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $3.72, with a volume of 1,719,516 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on RCKT shares. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $11.00 price objective on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered Rocket Pharmaceuticals from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Rocket Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $8.88.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 4.9%

The business's fifty day moving average price is $3.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $3.65. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $406.19 million, a PE ratio of -1.99 and a beta of 0.45.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.56) EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rocket Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CEO Gaurav Shah sold 55,684 shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.09, for a total value of $172,063.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,061,724 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,280,727.16. The trade was a 4.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Sarbani Chaudhuri sold 17,650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 83,733 shares of company stock worth $275,307 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 21.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rocket Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,892,204 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $22,469,000 after buying an additional 769,743 shares during the last quarter. MPM Bioimpact LLC increased its stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 141.2% during the second quarter. MPM Bioimpact LLC now owns 3,903,081 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $9,563,000 after acquiring an additional 2,284,816 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 52.0% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,570,391 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $11,639,000 after acquiring an additional 1,221,554 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 42.0% in the 1st quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 3,567,372 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $12,771,000 after purchasing an additional 1,054,262 shares during the period. Finally, Monaco Asset Management SAM raised its holdings in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Monaco Asset Management SAM now owns 2,987,296 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $10,485,000 after purchasing an additional 95,035 shares during the period. 98.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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