William Blair Issues Negative Forecast for RCKT Earnings

Key Points

• William Blair has lowered its earnings per share estimate for Rocket Pharmaceuticals to ($0.41) for Q3 2026, down from a previous estimate of ($0.38).
• Rocket Pharmaceuticals reported a quarterly earnings miss, posting ($0.59) EPS compared to the consensus estimate of ($0.57).
• Insider selling activity has increased, with key executives reducing their shareholdings, raising concerns about the company's outlook.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RCKT - Free Report) - Research analysts at William Blair cut their Q3 2026 earnings per share estimates for Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a research note issued on Wednesday, August 20th. William Blair analyst S. Corwin now anticipates that the biotechnology company will post earnings per share of ($0.41) for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of ($0.38). The consensus estimate for Rocket Pharmaceuticals' current full-year earnings is ($2.83) per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Rocket Pharmaceuticals' Q4 2026 earnings at ($0.54) EPS and FY2026 earnings at ($1.60) EPS.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $7.00 target price on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Evercore ISI downgraded Rocket Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $5.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Bank of America upgraded Rocket Pharmaceuticals from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $4.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Leerink Partners restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $8.00 target price (down previously from $37.00) on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Rocket Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $16.73.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of RCKT opened at $3.73 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 6.39, a quick ratio of 6.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Rocket Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $2.19 and a 12 month high of $22.01. The stock's 50 day moving average is $2.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.71. The firm has a market cap of $402.48 million, a P/E ratio of -1.49 and a beta of 0.65.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.59) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.57) by ($0.02). During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.74) earnings per share.

Insider Activity at Rocket Pharmaceuticals

In related news, General Counsel Martin Wilson sold 12,109 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.02, for a total value of $36,569.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 137,054 shares in the company, valued at approximately $413,903.08. This represents a 8.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jonathan David Schwartz sold 11,161 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.02, for a total value of $33,706.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 224,094 shares of the company's stock, valued at $676,763.88. The trade was a 4.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 36,927 shares of company stock valued at $111,413 over the last quarter. 24.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RCKT. Prudential Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Rocket Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 94.4% during the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 12,202 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 5,926 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 7,818.1% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 13,540 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 13,369 shares in the last quarter. Corton Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Rocket Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $38,000. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in Rocket Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $43,000. 98.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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