Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Shares of Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $38.21 and last traded at $36.3820, with a volume of 4416561 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $35.17.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. National Bank Financial set a $12.30 price target on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $16.40 price target on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Planet Labs PBC from $26.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Planet Labs PBC to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Planet Labs PBC from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Planet Labs PBC has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.70.

Planet Labs PBC Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $26.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.81 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.37, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.65.

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by ($0.43). The firm had revenue of $86.82 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $78.17 million. Planet Labs PBC had a negative net margin of 80.22% and a negative return on equity of 69.61%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Planet Labs PBC will post -0.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kristen Robinson sold 47,835 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.96, for a total transaction of $1,289,631.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 222,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,009,303.12. This trade represents a 17.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Vijaya Gadde sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total transaction of $535,400.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 250,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,697,024.13. The trade was a 7.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 492,249 shares of company stock valued at $15,500,339 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 17.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PL. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Planet Labs PBC by 320.3% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,678,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,429,000 after acquiring an additional 5,851,758 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Planet Labs PBC by 758.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,727,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,386,000 after acquiring an additional 3,293,333 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Planet Labs PBC by 265.6% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,450,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,787,000 after acquiring an additional 2,506,595 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in Planet Labs PBC by 257.5% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,362,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,662,000 after acquiring an additional 1,701,535 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Planet Labs PBC by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,551,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,801,000 after acquiring an additional 1,637,880 shares during the last quarter. 41.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.