Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $40.88 and last traded at $40.8150, with a volume of 1026178 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $38.03.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on PL shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Planet Labs PBC from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of Planet Labs PBC from $20.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Planet Labs PBC from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Planet Labs PBC to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Planet Labs PBC from $30.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.94.

Planet Labs PBC Trading Down 2.9%

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $29.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.86. The firm has a market cap of $13.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -49.13 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.37.

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by ($0.43). Planet Labs PBC had a negative net margin of 80.22% and a negative return on equity of 69.61%. The company had revenue of $86.82 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $78.17 million. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Planet Labs PBC will post -0.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Ashley F. Johnson sold 200,000 shares of Planet Labs PBC stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were 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 $66,520,186.20. This trade represents a 9.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Robert H. Schingler sold 73,683 shares of Planet Labs PBC stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.07, for a total transaction of $2,584,062.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 256,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,995,034.16. This trade represents a 22.32% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 17.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Planet Labs PBC

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 92.5% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 745 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 146.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,011 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 1,195 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.71% of the company’s stock.

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.