Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT) Upgraded at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $9.00 target price on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Wedbush reduced their target price on Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $11.00 price objective on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $8.62.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 3.7%

RCKT stock opened at $3.37 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $3.50 and its 200 day moving average is $3.61. The firm has a market cap of $369.96 million, a PE ratio of -19.82 and a beta of 0.50. Rocket Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $2.53 and a one year high of $5.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 9.24 and a current ratio of 9.24.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The biotechnology company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.22. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.62) EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Rocket Pharmaceuticals will post -1.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Rocket Pharmaceuticals

In other news, COO Christopher Stevens sold 36,658 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.50, for a total transaction of $128,303.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 505,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,770,244. The trade was a 6.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, General Counsel Martin Wilson sold 75,364 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.40, for a total transaction of $256,237.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 598,489 shares in the company, valued at $2,034,862.60. The trade was a 11.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 125,977 shares of company stock valued at $432,273. Insiders own 21.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rocket Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RCKT. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. HB Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Rocket Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Rocket Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.39% of the company’s stock.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on developing gene therapies for rare and devastating diseases. The company uses lentiviral and adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector platforms to deliver genetic material intended to address the underlying causes of inherited disorders, with research programs spanning hematology, immunology, metabolic disease and cardiac conditions.

Rocket’s pipeline has included RP-L102 for Fanconi anemia, a rare inherited bone marrow failure disorder; RP-L201 for leukocyte adhesion deficiency-I, an immune-system disorder; and RP-L301 for pyruvate kinase deficiency, a rare red blood cell disorder.