Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) Shares Up 6.5% – Still a Buy?

Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB) shares shot up 6.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $68.33 and last traded at $67.82. 21,087,406 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 9% from the average session volume of 23,091,611 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.70.

Trending Headlines about Rocket Lab

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

• Positive Sentiment: Rocket Lab completed a roughly $1.94 billion equity offering to help finance its proposed acquisition of Iridium Communications, providing capital for the company’s expansion into satellite communications and defense. Rocket Lab Completes $1.94 Billion Equity Offering
• Positive Sentiment: The Iridium transaction cleared an initial FCC regulatory hurdle, while Iridium shareholders are scheduled to vote on the approximately $8.1 billion deal on September 24. Regulatory progress supports Rocket Lab’s strategy to build a broader space and communications business. Rocket Lab Jumps as FCC Clears First Hurdle on Iridium Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Rocket Lab is continuing hardware testing for its Neutron rocket. Reports that SpaceX may limit new Falcon 9 commercial bookings beyond 2028 could create an opportunity for Neutron if Rocket Lab achieves a successful debut and reliable launch cadence. Rocket Lab Tests Neutron Hardware

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on RKLB. Craig Hallum upped their price objective on shares of Rocket Lab from $98.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Roth Capital set a $110.00 price objective on Rocket Lab in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Rocket Lab in a research report on Friday, September 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $80.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler began coverage on Rocket Lab in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $83.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Rocket Lab in a report on Friday, July 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.32.

Rocket Lab Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 4.98, a current ratio of 5.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market cap of $38.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -239.14 and a beta of 2.60. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $69.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.25.

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The rocket manufacturer reported ($0.08) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $234.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $231.62 million. Rocket Lab had a negative net margin of 21.51% and a negative return on equity of 6.48%. Sell-side analysts expect that Rocket Lab Corporation will post -0.2 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rocket Lab

In other news, insider Frank Klein sold 35,558 shares of Rocket Lab stock in a transaction 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 approximately $61,663,341.57. The trade was a 3.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Agostino Ricupati sold 669 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.63, for a total value of $46,582.47. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 26,863 shares in the company, valued at $1,870,470.69. This trade represents a 2.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,536,371 shares of company stock worth $303,442,641. Company insiders own 8.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rocket Lab

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Rocket Lab during the second quarter worth about $4,124,970,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Rocket Lab in the second quarter worth approximately $245,764,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Rocket Lab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $341,036,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Rocket Lab in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $437,280,000. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Rocket Lab by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 16,200,726 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,130,172,000 after buying an additional 1,738,623 shares in the last quarter. 71.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab USA, Inc is a space company that provides launch services and space systems for commercial, civil and national security customers. The company develops and operates launch vehicles, spacecraft and satellite components, with activities spanning the design, manufacture and operation of space hardware.

Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket is a small-lift orbital launch vehicle designed to deploy small satellites. The company also develops HASTE, a suborbital test vehicle based on Electron technology, and is developing Neutron, a larger reusable launch vehicle intended to support a broader range of missions.