Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL)

Key Points

• Unusually heavy call-option buying hit Planet Labs PBC, with 31,546 call contracts traded Monday, about 48% above the stock’s typical daily call volume.
• Several insiders recently sold shares, including CFO Ashley F. Johnson and insider Robert H. Schingler, while insiders still own 16.42% of the company.
• Planet Labs reported quarterly earnings and revenue that topped expectations, and analysts remain mixed overall with a consensus rating of Hold and a target price of $35.11.

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Investors purchased 31,546 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 48% compared to the typical daily volume of 21,328 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Planet Labs PBC news, CFO Ashley F. Johnson sold 200,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.10, for a total transaction of $7,020,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,895,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $66,520,186.20. The trade was a 9.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Robert H. Schingler sold 73,683 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.07, for a total transaction of $2,584,062.81. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 256,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,995,034.16. The trade was a 22.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 16.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Planet Labs PBC

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,358,515 shares of the company's stock worth $381,750,000 after buying an additional 806,818 shares in the last quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Planet Labs PBC in the third quarter worth approximately $13,564,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 45.3% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 202,384 shares of the company's stock worth $2,627,000 after buying an additional 63,088 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 74.1% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,002,184 shares of the company's stock worth $25,988,000 after buying an additional 851,937 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AMI Asset Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Planet Labs PBC in the fourth quarter worth approximately $673,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PL. Craig Hallum lifted their target price on shares of Planet Labs PBC from $36.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $38.00 target price on shares of Planet Labs PBC and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Northland Securities set a $50.00 target price on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a research note on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of Planet Labs PBC from $20.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Planet Labs PBC from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $35.11.

Planet Labs PBC Stock Up 1.5%

PL traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $32.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 18,255,076 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,283,232. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.70 and a beta of 1.99. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Planet Labs PBC has a 1 year low of $4.90 and a 1 year high of $51.76. The stock's 50-day moving average is $38.79 and its 200-day moving average is $27.74.

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 4th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.01. The business had revenue of $94.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $90.39 million. Planet Labs PBC had a negative net margin of 111.17% and a negative return on equity of 105.29%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 42.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Planet Labs PBC will post -0.45 EPS for the current year.

About Planet Labs PBC

Planet Labs PBC is a public benefit corporation that operates one of the largest fleets of Earth-imaging satellites, providing high-frequency, high-resolution imagery and data analytics to a broad range of industries. The company's multi-spectral satellite constellation captures daily snapshots of the planet, enabling clients to monitor changes in agriculture, forestry, urban development, energy infrastructure and environmental conditions. Planet's imagery platform is designed to support timely decision-making by transforming raw satellite data into actionable insights for business and government users.

Founded in 2010 by former NASA scientists Will Marshall, Robbie Schingler and Chris Boshuizen, Planet Labs grew from a small startup into a key provider in the satellite imaging sector.

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