Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $27.07, but opened at $28.60. Planet Labs PBC shares last traded at $29.7470, with a volume of 2,256,445 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on PL shares. Weiss Ratings raised Planet Labs PBC from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Northland Securities set a $50.00 target price on Planet Labs PBC in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Planet Labs PBC from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Zacks Research cut Planet Labs PBC from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.11.

Planet Labs PBC Trading Up 14.0%

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $37.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 2.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.00 billion, a PE ratio of -26.93 and a beta of 1.99.

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 4th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $94.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.39 million. Planet Labs PBC had a negative return on equity of 105.29% and a negative net margin of 111.17%.Planet Labs PBC’s revenue was up 42.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Planet Labs PBC will post -0.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Ashley F. Johnson sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert H. Schingler sold 73,683 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.07, for a total value of $2,584,062.81. Following the transaction, the insider owned 256,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,995,034.16. This trade represents a 22.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 16.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Planet Labs PBC

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Planet Labs PBC by 671.1% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 92,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $313,000 after buying an additional 80,672 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Planet Labs PBC in the first quarter worth $189,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 6.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 130,798 shares of the company’s stock worth $442,000 after acquiring an additional 8,143 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 54.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,856,245 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,274,000 after acquiring an additional 653,173 shares during the period. Finally, Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC in the second quarter valued at $121,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.71% of the company’s stock.

About Planet Labs PBC

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.