Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

PL has been the topic of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Planet Labs PBC from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $38.00 price objective on Planet Labs PBC and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Wedbush increased their price objective on Planet Labs PBC from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Planet Labs PBC from $26.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Planet Labs PBC from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Monday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.61.

Planet Labs PBC Price Performance

Shares of Planet Labs PBC stock opened at $42.65 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.76 billion, a PE ratio of -54.67 and a beta of 1.91. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $34.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.96. Planet Labs PBC has a 12 month low of $3.47 and a 12 month high of $45.78.

Insider Activity at Planet Labs PBC

In related news, insider Robert H. Schingler sold 73,683 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.07, for a total transaction of $2,584,062.81. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 256,488 shares in the company, valued at $8,995,034.16. This trade represents a 22.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ashley F. Johnson sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.10, for a total value of $7,020,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 1,895,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,520,186.20. The trade was a 9.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 17.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Planet Labs PBC

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Planet Labs PBC by 320.3% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,678,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $151,429,000 after buying an additional 5,851,758 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Planet Labs PBC by 758.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,727,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,386,000 after buying an additional 3,293,333 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Planet Labs PBC by 265.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,450,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,787,000 after buying an additional 2,506,595 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in Planet Labs PBC by 257.5% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,362,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,662,000 after buying an additional 1,701,535 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Planet Labs PBC by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,551,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,801,000 after buying an additional 1,637,880 shares during the period. 41.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Planet Labs PBC Company Profile

Planet Labs PBC is a public benefit corporation that operates one of the largest fleets of Earth-imaging satellites, providing high-frequency, high-resolution imagery and data analytics to a broad range of industries. The company’s multi-spectral satellite constellation captures daily snapshots of the planet, enabling clients to monitor changes in agriculture, forestry, urban development, energy infrastructure and environmental conditions. Planet’s imagery platform is designed to support timely decision-making by transforming raw satellite data into actionable insights for business and government users.

Founded in 2010 by former NASA scientists Will Marshall, Robbie Schingler and Chris Boshuizen, Planet Labs grew from a small startup into a key provider in the satellite imaging sector.