Rocket Lab USA (NASDAQ:RKLB) Stock Price Up 4.7% – Still a Buy?

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:RKLB) shares were up 4.7% on Friday . The company traded as high as $24.60 and last traded at $24.32. Approximately 6,803,157 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 44% from the average daily volume of 12,151,901 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.22.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on RKLB shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Rocket Lab USA from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Rocket Lab USA from $13.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. JMP Securities started coverage on Rocket Lab USA in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Rocket Lab USA from $13.50 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Rocket Lab USA from $5.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.44.

Rocket Lab USA Stock Up 7.1 %

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $18.08 and its 200-day moving average is $10.30. The company has a market capitalization of $12.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -67.21 and a beta of 1.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Alexander R. Slusky sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.00, for a total transaction of $1,150,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 534,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,297,525. This trade represents a 8.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Matthew Ocko sold 2,000,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,351,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,685,623.55. The trade was a 45.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,114,530 shares of company stock valued at $38,168,400. 13.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rocket Lab USA

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RKLB. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in Rocket Lab USA by 46.8% in the third 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake 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. FORA Capital LLC bought a new position in Rocket Lab USA during the third quarter worth $449,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in Rocket Lab USA by 149.2% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 50,408 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $490,000 after buying an additional 30,178 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Rocket Lab USA by 22.4% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 227,438 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,213,000 after buying an additional 41,551 shares during the period. 71.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.