Wedbush Begins Coverage on Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL)

Key Points

• Wedbush initiated coverage on Planet Labs PBC with an outperform rating and a $50 price target, implying about 50% upside from the current share price.
• Recent analyst opinions are mixed, but the broader view is cautious: Planet Labs has a consensus Hold rating and a $35.11 average target across Wall Street coverage.
• The company recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting revenue of $94.15 million and a smaller-than-expected loss, with revenue up 42.1% year over year.

Research analysts at Wedbush initiated coverage on shares of Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL - Get Free Report) in a report issued on Wednesday. The brokerage set an "outperform" rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Wedbush's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 50.43% from the stock's current price.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Zacks Research downgraded Planet Labs PBC from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Planet Labs PBC from $40.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on Planet Labs PBC from $20.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Weiss Ratings raised Planet Labs PBC from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Planet Labs PBC from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Planet Labs PBC presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $35.11.

Planet Labs PBC Price Performance

PL traded up $0.11 on Wednesday, reaching $33.24. 995,657 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,724,265. The stock has a market cap of $11.85 billion, a PE ratio of -29.37 and a beta of 1.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 2.78. Planet Labs PBC has a twelve month low of $5.87 and a twelve month high of $51.76. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $37.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.86.

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. Planet Labs PBC had a negative net margin of 111.17% and a negative return on equity of 105.29%. The business had revenue of $94.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.39 million. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 42.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Planet Labs PBC will post -0.92 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Ashley F. Johnson sold 200,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.10, for a total value of $7,020,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 1,895,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,520,186.20. The trade was a 9.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert H. Schingler sold 73,683 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.07, for a total value 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 16.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Planet Labs PBC

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Planet Labs PBC in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in Planet Labs PBC during the 1st quarter worth approximately $5,472,000. Amundi boosted its position in Planet Labs PBC by 30.7% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 20,280 shares of the company's stock valued at $567,000 after buying an additional 4,765 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Planet Labs PBC by 243.6% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,965 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 2,102 shares during the period. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 22.6% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 285,952 shares of the company's stock worth $7,992,000 after acquiring an additional 52,806 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.71% of the company's stock.

Planet Labs PBC Company Profile

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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