Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $35.66, but opened at $36.98. Rocket Lab shares last traded at $36.12, with a volume of 4,612,318 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on RKLB. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Rocket Lab from $21.00 to $18.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Rocket Lab from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Rocket Lab in a report on Monday, June 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $27.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Rocket Lab from $29.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Roth Capital increased their price objective on shares of Rocket Lab from $25.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Rocket Lab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.40.

Rocket Lab Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $27.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.79 billion, a PE ratio of -92.27 and a beta of 2.15.

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The rocket manufacturer reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $122.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $120.74 million. Rocket Lab had a negative net margin of 44.32% and a negative return on equity of 48.92%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 32.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.09) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Rocket Lab Corporation will post -0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rocket Lab news, Director Matthew Ocko sold 820,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.01, for a total transaction of $21,328,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,083,053 shares in the company, valued at $28,170,208.53. The trade was a 43.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Arjun Kampani sold 28,988 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.66, for a total value of $772,820.08. Following the transaction, the insider owned 540,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,412,875.88. This trade represents a 5.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,130,995 shares of company stock worth $29,686,039 over the last three months. 13.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rocket Lab

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sandy Spring Bank bought a new position in Rocket Lab in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Rocket Lab by 118.1% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,588 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 860 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB bought a new position in Rocket Lab in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Rocket Lab by 181.1% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,903 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC grew its stake in Rocket Lab by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. 71.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab USA, Inc, a space company, provides launch services and space systems solutions for the space and defense industries. The company provides launch services, spacecraft design services, spacecraft components, spacecraft manufacturing, and other spacecraft and on-orbit management solutions; and constellation management services, as well as designs and manufactures small and medium-class rockets.