Head to Head Analysis: Rocket Lab (RKLB) versus Its Rivals

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) is one of 229 publicly-traded companies in the “Aerospace & Defense” industry, but how does it compare to its competitors? We will compare Rocket Lab to similar companies based on the strength of its dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, risk and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Rocket Lab and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Rocket Lab	-25.73%	-7.71%	-6.18%
Rocket Lab Competitors	-348.96%	-46.51%	-4.31%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Rocket Lab and its competitors, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Rocket Lab	1	5	15	3	2.83
Rocket Lab Competitors	2156	8270	12781	580	2.50

Rocket Lab presently has a consensus price target of $100.10, suggesting a potential upside of 59.62%. As a group, “Aerospace & Defense” companies have a potential upside of 26.00%. Given Rocket Lab’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Rocket Lab is more favorable than its competitors.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

71.8% of Rocket Lab shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 49.5% of shares of all “Aerospace & Defense” companies are owned by institutional investors. 8.4% of Rocket Lab shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.8% of shares of all “Aerospace & Defense” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Rocket Lab has a beta of 3.15, suggesting that its stock price is 215% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Rocket Lab’s competitors have a beta of 1.31, suggesting that their average stock price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Rocket Lab and its competitors gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Rocket Lab	$601.80 million	-$198.21 million	-232.26
Rocket Lab Competitors	$8.43 billion	$569.54 million	25.87

Rocket Lab’s competitors have higher revenue and earnings than Rocket Lab. Rocket Lab is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Summary

Rocket Lab beats its competitors on 8 of the 13 factors compared.

About Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab is a space company that provides launch services and spacecraft and satellite systems for commercial, civil, and national security customers. Founded in 2006 by Peter Beck, the company operates internationally, with headquarters in Long Beach, California, and launch operations in New Zealand and the United States. Its launch business centers on Electron, a small orbital rocket designed to carry satellites to space, and HASTE, a suborbital vehicle used for hypersonic test missions. Rocket Lab is also developing Neutron, a larger launch vehicle.