Rocket Lab USA (NASDAQ:RKLB) Shares Up 10.4% on Analyst Upgrade

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:RKLB)’s share price traded up 10.4% during trading on Thursday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $5.45 to $7.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Rocket Lab USA traded as high as $5.74 and last traded at $5.72. 12,239,422 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 55% from the average session volume of 7,903,562 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.18.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $6.00 target price on shares of Rocket Lab USA in a report on Monday, July 22nd. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Rocket Lab USA in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Rocket Lab USA in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $4.50 price target on the stock. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $7.00 price objective on shares of Rocket Lab USA in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Rocket Lab USA from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $8.00 to $6.00 in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rocket Lab USA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $6.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rocket Lab USA news, CFO Adam C. Spice sold 63,529 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.22, for a total value of $268,092.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 1,383,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,839,116.94. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, General Counsel Arjun Kampani sold 29,026 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.22, for a total value of $122,489.72. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 666,121 shares in the company, valued at $2,811,030.62. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Adam C. Spice sold 63,529 shares of Rocket Lab USA stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.22, for a total transaction of $268,092.38. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 1,383,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,839,116.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 13.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rocket Lab USA

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Scientech Research LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Rocket Lab USA by 135.4% in the 2nd quarter. Scientech Research LLC now owns 182,520 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $876,000 after buying an additional 104,980 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Rocket Lab USA by 21.2% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 205,190 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $985,000 after acquiring an additional 35,849 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in Rocket Lab USA by 29.1% in the second quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 22,185 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 4,997 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in Rocket Lab USA during the 2nd quarter worth about $125,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new position in Rocket Lab USA during the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,469,000. 71.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Rocket Lab USA Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $4.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.47. The firm has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.35 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a current ratio of 3.12.

Rocket Lab USA (NASDAQ:RKLB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The rocket manufacturer reported ($0.08) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $106.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $105.47 million. Rocket Lab USA had a negative net margin of 54.17% and a negative return on equity of 32.78%. Rocket Lab USA’s revenue was up 71.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.10) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Rocket Lab USA, Inc. will post -0.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.