Rocket Lab USA (NASDAQ:RKLB) Trading 14.6% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:RKLB) shot up 14.6% on Friday after KeyCorp raised their price target on the stock from $8.00 to $11.00. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Rocket Lab USA traded as high as $10.29 and last traded at $9.96. 20,588,729 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 118% from the average session volume of 9,442,452 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.69.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Rocket Lab USA in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Rocket Lab USA in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $4.50 price target for the company. JMP Securities started coverage on Rocket Lab USA in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $7.00 price target on shares of Rocket Lab USA in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Rocket Lab USA from $5.45 to $7.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rocket Lab USA presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $6.68.

Insider Transactions at Rocket Lab USA

In related news, General Counsel Arjun Kampani sold 28,563 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.96, for a total value of $198,798.48. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 637,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,437,403.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, General Counsel Arjun Kampani sold 28,563 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.96, for a total transaction of $198,798.48. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 637,558 shares in the company, valued at $4,437,403.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Michael D. Griffin sold 39,446 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.90, for a total transaction of $272,177.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 42,353 shares in the company, valued at $292,235.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 130,521 shares of company stock valued at $906,059 over the last 90 days. 13.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RKLB. Scotia Capital Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Rocket Lab USA by 146.4% in the 4th quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 40,390 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 24,000 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Rocket Lab USA during the 4th quarter worth about $852,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Rocket Lab USA by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,551,789 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $146,831,000 after purchasing an additional 451,370 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Morris Harris LLC bought a new position in shares of Rocket Lab USA in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $145,000. Finally, 180 Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Rocket Lab USA by 35.3% in the 1st quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 37,373 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $154,000 after buying an additional 9,747 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.78% of the company’s stock.

Rocket Lab USA Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $6.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.99. The company has a current ratio of 2.82, a quick ratio of 2.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The company has a market cap of $4.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.43 and a beta of 1.27.

Rocket Lab USA (NASDAQ:RKLB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The rocket manufacturer reported ($0.08) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $106.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $105.47 million. Rocket Lab USA had a negative return on equity of 34.12% and a negative net margin of 54.17%. The firm’s revenue was up 71.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.10) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Rocket Lab USA, Inc. will post -0.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rocket Lab USA Company Profile

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.