Needham & Company LLC Cuts Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) Price Target to $40.00

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) had its price target cut by Needham & Company LLC from $53.00 to $40.00 in a report issued on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Wedbush started coverage on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Planet Labs PBC from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Planet Labs PBC from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Citigroup cut shares of Planet Labs PBC from a “market perform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, New Street Research started coverage on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. They set a “sell” rating and a $28.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Planet Labs PBC currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.72.

Planet Labs PBC Price Performance

PL opened at $18.12 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.47 and a beta of 2.10. Planet Labs PBC has a 12 month low of $6.26 and a 12 month high of $51.76. The company has a quick ratio of 2.82, a current ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.09.

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 3rd. The company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.04. Planet Labs PBC had a negative return on equity of 93.11% and a negative net margin of 95.13%.The firm had revenue of $116.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $104.53 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.07) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 58.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Planet Labs PBC will post -0.92 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John W. Raymond sold 6,494 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.16, for a total value of $169,883.04. Following the sale, the director directly owned 37,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $970,902.24. This represents a 14.89% 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, CFO Ashley F. Johnson sold 75,035 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.08, for a total transaction of $1,656,772.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 1,132,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,997,253.76. This trade represents a 6.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 171,122 shares of company stock worth $4,148,906. Insiders own 16.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Planet Labs PBC

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in shares of Planet Labs PBC during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $590,000. Carlson Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Planet Labs PBC during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $231,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in Planet Labs PBC by 3,265.0% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 9,622,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,440,000 after acquiring an additional 9,336,325 shares during the period. FirstWave Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Planet Labs PBC during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,182,000. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG lifted its holdings in Planet Labs PBC by 36.7% during the 2nd quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 298,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,321,000 after purchasing an additional 80,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.71% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Planet Labs PBC

Here are the key news stories impacting Planet Labs PBC this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Planet posted record fiscal Q2 revenue of $116.1 million, up 58% year over year and well above the $104.5 million consensus estimate. Adjusted earnings of $0.02 per share also exceeded expectations for a $0.02 loss. Planet Reports Financial Results for Second Quarter of Fiscal Year 2027
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised fiscal 2027 guidance and highlighted a satellite-services pipeline exceeding $4 billion, along with accelerating investment in its Owl satellite initiative. These developments support the longer-term growth case. PL Q2 Earnings Call Highlights Satellite Services Expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Planet announced a seven-figure agreement with a European defense and intelligence customer, adding to investor interest in its government and defense business. Planet Signs 7-Figure Agreement with European Defense and Intelligence Customer
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment improved: Berenberg upgraded Planet to “strong buy,” while Needham maintained a Buy rating despite reducing its price target to $40.
• Neutral Sentiment: New Street Research upgraded PL from Sell to Neutral with a $22 price target, and Citizens JMP reaffirmed its Market Perform rating, signaling improving but still cautious sentiment. New Street Upgrades Planet Labs PBC to Neutral From Sell
• Negative Sentiment: Fiscal Q3 revenue guidance of $101 million-$105 million was below the approximately $114 million analyst consensus. The weaker near-term outlook may be prompting selling despite the Q2 beat.

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.