Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT) Shares Pass Below 50-Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Key Points

• Rocket Pharmaceuticals' shares have fallen below their 50-day moving average, trading recently at $3.14, prompting concerns about their current performance.
• Equities analysts have lowered their price targets for Rocket Pharmaceuticals, with UBS reducing its target from $12 to $5, while maintaining a "buy" rating.
• Insider transactions indicate a decrease in ownership as key executives sold shares, raising questions about management's confidence in the company's direction.

Shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RCKT - Get Free Report) passed below its 50 day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $3.20 and traded as low as $3.10. Rocket Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $3.14, with a volume of 2,304,468 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $12.00 to $5.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Leerink Partners lowered their target price on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $9.00 to $7.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $11.00 target price on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $4.00 to $10.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $16.67.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.3%

The company has a market capitalization of $338.81 million, a PE ratio of -1.25 and a beta of 0.60. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $3.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 6.39 and a current ratio of 6.39.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.59) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.57) by ($0.02). During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.74) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -2.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Martin Wilson sold 12,109 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.02, for a total value of $36,569.18. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 137,054 shares in the company, valued at $413,903.08. The trade was a 8.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan David Schwartz sold 11,161 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.02, for a total transaction of $33,706.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 224,094 shares in the company, valued at $676,763.88. This represents a 4.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 35,450 shares of company stock worth $107,159. 24.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rocket Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of RCKT. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $117,000. Sanders Morris Harris LLC purchased a new stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $90,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $56,000. Marex Group plc purchased a new stake in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its position in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 94.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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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