Rocket Lab USA (NASDAQ:RKLB) Hits New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:RKLB)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $22.00 to $35.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Rocket Lab USA traded as high as $31.64 and last traded at $31.27, with a volume of 61867601 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $24.00.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on RKLB. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Rocket Lab USA from $13.50 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Rocket Lab USA from $12.00 to $13.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Rocket Lab USA from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of Rocket Lab USA from $7.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Rocket Lab USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.06.

Insider Activity at Rocket Lab USA

In related news, insider Frank Klein sold 35,968 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.15, for a total transaction of $868,627.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,464,032 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,356,372.80. This trade represents a 2.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Matthew Ocko sold 2,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.73, for a total value of $35,460,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,351,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,685,623.55. This trade represents a 45.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,114,530 shares of company stock valued at $38,168,400 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rocket Lab USA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Rocket Lab USA by 12.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,253,035 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $80,317,000 after buying an additional 898,223 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Rocket Lab USA by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,878,357 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $28,006,000 after purchasing an additional 532,207 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rocket Lab USA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $8,930,000. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in Rocket Lab USA by 46.8% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 691,387 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $6,727,000 after acquiring an additional 220,432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Rocket Lab USA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,651,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.78% of the company’s stock.

Rocket Lab USA Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $15.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -85.32 and a beta of 1.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.58. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.82.

About Rocket Lab USA

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.