Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) Shares Climb 6.5% – Time to Buy?

Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB)’s share price rose 6.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The company traded as high as $63.77 and last traded at $62.71. 31,817,251 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 40% from the average daily volume of 22,797,947 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.86.

Key Stories Impacting Rocket Lab

Here are the key news stories impacting Rocket Lab this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rocket Lab reported record third-quarter revenue of $267.8 million, up 72.7% year over year, and backlog rose 52% sequentially to about $3.57 billion. Its fourth-quarter revenue outlook of $270 million–$290 million also topped analyst expectations, supporting the growth case. Company results
• Positive Sentiment: Demand for Neutron remains encouraging: Rocket Lab secured more than $515 million in launch contracts during the quarter, taking its Neutron backlog to 16 missions and raising the base launch price to $70 million. Analysts also cited constrained launch availability as a potential benefit to the company. Neutron contracts
• Positive Sentiment: Rocket Lab-built NASA ESCAPADE satellites completed their trans-Mars injection burns, providing a positive operational update. ESCAPADE update
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views were mixed: Cantor lowered its target to $111 but kept an Overweight rating; Barclays also trimmed its target while maintaining Overweight. Piper Sandler cut its target to $58 and moved to Neutral. Analyst commentary
• Negative Sentiment: The quarterly loss of $0.12 per share was wider than the $0.07 loss analysts expected, and the net loss expanded to roughly $80 million. Investors were also concerned that Neutron’s first launch is now expected no earlier than 2027, delaying a key growth catalyst and keeping execution and profitability risks in focus. Earnings reaction

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of Rocket Lab in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Rocket Lab from $83.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. KGI Securities raised shares of Rocket Lab from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $107.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Rocket Lab from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Rocket Lab in a research note on Friday, September 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $80.00 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.10.

Rocket Lab Trading Up 6.5%

The company has a current ratio of 5.48, a quick ratio of 4.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -232.25 and a beta of 3.15. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $62.45 and its 200 day moving average is $78.80.

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 9th. The rocket manufacturer reported ($0.12) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $267.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $257.21 million. Rocket Lab had a negative net margin of 21.51% and a negative return on equity of 6.48%. On average, equities analysts predict that Rocket Lab Corporation will post -0.20 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rocket Lab

In related news, insider Frank Klein sold 35,558 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.61, for a total transaction of $2,368,518.38. Following the sale, the insider owned 925,737 shares in the company, valued at $61,663,341.57. This represents a 3.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Marvin Clevenger sold 15,051 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.63, for a total value of $1,048,001.13. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 458,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,954,878.12. This represents a 3.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 551,832 shares of company stock valued at $34,940,037. 8.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rocket Lab

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of RKLB. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Rocket Lab in the second quarter worth $4,124,970,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Rocket Lab during the 2nd quarter worth about $245,764,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Rocket Lab during the 2nd quarter worth about $437,280,000. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Rocket Lab by 26.3% in the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 3,003,656 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $209,295,000 after buying an additional 625,289 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Rocket Lab by 14.8% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,737,451 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $278,262,000 after acquiring an additional 352,094 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.78% of the company’s stock.

Rocket Lab Company Profile

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.