JPMorgan Chase & Co. Downgrades Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT) to Underweight

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT) was downgraded by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on RCKT. Chardan Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $11.00 target price on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Leerink Partners lowered their price objective on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $9.00 to $7.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rocket Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.47.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $2.96. 327,253 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,384,199. Rocket Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $2.19 and a 52-week high of $15.01. The company has a fifty day moving average of $3.42 and a 200-day moving average of $3.57. The company has a current ratio of 6.39, a quick ratio of 6.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $319.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.18 and a beta of 0.69.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.45) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.48) by $0.03. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.71) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Rocket Pharmaceuticals will post -2.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John Militello sold 28,918 shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.96, for a total transaction of $114,515.28. Following the sale, the insider owned 67,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $265,343.76. The trade was a 30.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Elisabeth Bjork acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $3.41 per share, with a total value of $34,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $136,400. The trade was a 33.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 24.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rocket Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Prudential Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its holdings in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 94.4% in the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 7,818.1% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 13,540 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 13,369 shares during the period. Corton Capital Inc. bought a new position in Rocket Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $40,000. 98.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.