Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) Shares Climb 10.9% – Should You Buy?

Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB) shares were up 10.9% during trading on Monday. The company traded as high as $59.69 and last traded at $58.86. Approximately 29,133,560 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 28% from the average session volume of 22,752,564 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.07.

Key Rocket Lab News

Here’s some of the latest news about RKLB:

• Positive Sentiment: Rocket Lab reported third-quarter revenue of about $268 million, up 73% year over year and ahead of expectations. Its backlog expanded to $3.57 billion, while fourth-quarter revenue guidance of $270 million to $290 million topped consensus. Rocket Lab Q3 results
• Positive Sentiment: Neutron demand appears robust: the company secured more than $515 million in launch contracts during the quarter, bringing the rocket’s backlog to 16 missions, and raised the base price for several launches to $70 million. Morgan Stanley said the long-term commercialization outlook remains intact. Neutron launch contracts Morgan Stanley outlook
• Positive Sentiment: ARK Invest reportedly bought about $3.4 million of Rocket Lab shares, adding to investor support. Technical commentary also noted the stock’s move above a resistance level. ARK Invest purchase

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on RKLB shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Rocket Lab in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on Rocket Lab from $120.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Rocket Lab in a report on Friday, September 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on Rocket Lab from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Rocket Lab in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $99.00.

Rocket Lab Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $62.42 and a 200 day moving average of $78.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 4.98 and a current ratio of 5.48. The firm has a market cap of $39.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -183.75 and a beta of 3.15.

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 9th. The rocket manufacturer reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by ($0.05). Rocket Lab had a negative net margin of 25.73% and a negative return on equity of 7.71%. The company had revenue of $267.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $257.21 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Rocket Lab Corporation will post -0.20 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rocket Lab

In related news, Director Nina Armagno sold 10,926 shares of Rocket Lab stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.78, for a total transaction of $576,674.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 100,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,304,178.88. This trade represents a 9.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Frank Klein sold 35,558 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.61, for a total value of $2,368,518.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 925,737 shares in the company, valued at $61,663,341.57. The trade was a 3.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 551,832 shares of company stock worth $34,940,037 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 8.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rocket Lab

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RKLB. Patron Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rocket Lab by 17.6% in the third quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 3,683 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares in the last quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Rocket Lab by 120.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,251 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $714,000 after buying an additional 5,605 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Rocket Lab in the 3rd quarter valued at $8,803,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Rocket Lab by 118.3% during the third quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 1,159 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 628 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenline Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Rocket Lab by 51.9% during the third quarter. Greenline Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,886 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $340,000 after acquiring an additional 1,669 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.78% of the company’s stock.

About Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab is a space company that provides launch services and spacecraft and satellite systems for commercial, civil, and national security customers. Founded in 2006 by Peter Beck, the company operates internationally, with headquarters in Long Beach, California, and launch operations in New Zealand and the United States. Its launch business centers on Electron, a small orbital rocket designed to carry satellites to space, and HASTE, a suborbital vehicle used for hypersonic test missions. Rocket Lab is also developing Neutron, a larger launch vehicle.