Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT) Shares Up 5.5% Following Insider Buying Activity

Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RCKT) shares rose 5.5% during trading on Monday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The company traded as high as $5.70 and last traded at $5.56. Approximately 1,333,530 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 8% from the average daily volume of 1,233,542 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.27.

Specifically, CEO Gaurav Shah bought 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $5.08 per share, for a total transaction of $101,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 792,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,026,814.40. This trade represents a 2.59 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Kinnari Patel purchased 21,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $4.70 per share, with a total value of $99,165.30. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 26,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $125,837.80. This represents a 371.79 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on RCKT shares. Chardan Capital cut their price objective on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $62.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.00.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 6.05 and a quick ratio of 6.05. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $696.29 million, a P/E ratio of -2.37 and a beta of 1.00.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 3rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.62) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.68) by $0.06. On average, equities analysts forecast that Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -2.83 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Rocket Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 24.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,995,177 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $175,919,000 after acquiring an additional 2,753,033 shares during the period. Suvretta Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $32,267,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 111.0% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,004,039 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $50,343,000 after purchasing an additional 2,106,699 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 3,163.9% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,569,823 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $19,733,000 after purchasing an additional 1,521,727 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boxer Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Rocket Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $18,428,000. 98.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Rocket Pharmaceuticals

Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a late-stage biotechnology company that focuses on developing gene therapies for rare and devastating diseases. It has three clinical-stage ex vivo lentiviral vector programs for fanconi anemia, a genetic defect in the bone marrow that reduces production of blood cells or promotes the production of faulty blood cells; leukocyte adhesion deficiency-I, a genetic disorder that causes the immune system to malfunction; and pyruvate kinase deficiency, a rare red blood cell autosomal recessive disorder that results in chronic non-spherocytic hemolytic anemia.