Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) Stock Price Up 16.7% After Analyst Upgrade

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) shares were up 16.7% on Thursday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $30.00 to $35.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Planet Labs PBC traded as high as $36.04 and last traded at $35.8440. Approximately 25,273,427 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 79% from the average daily volume of 14,114,966 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.71.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Wedbush upped their price objective 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. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on Planet Labs PBC from $20.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Craig Hallum reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.70.

Insider Transactions at Planet Labs PBC

In related news, Director Vijaya Gadde sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total value of $535,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 250,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,697,024.13. This represents a 7.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Ashley F. Johnson sold 150,731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.01, for a total transaction of $4,071,244.31. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 1,956,101 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,834,288.01. This trade represents a 7.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 218,566 shares of company stock valued at $5,896,276. Company insiders own 17.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 320.3% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,678,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,429,000 after purchasing an additional 5,851,758 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Planet Labs PBC by 758.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,727,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,386,000 after purchasing an additional 3,293,333 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Planet Labs PBC by 265.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,450,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,787,000 after buying an additional 2,506,595 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in Planet Labs PBC by 257.5% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,362,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,662,000 after buying an additional 1,701,535 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,637,880 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.71% of the company’s stock.

Planet Labs PBC Trading Up 16.7%

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $25.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.21. The stock has a market cap of $12.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -45.95 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.37.

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 69.61% and a negative net margin of 80.22%.The business had revenue of $86.82 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $78.17 million. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Planet Labs PBC will post -0.37 earnings per share for the current year.

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.