Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) Shares Up 15.4% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) were up 15.4% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $31.28 and last traded at $31.2320. 14,241,063 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 3% from the average daily volume of 13,799,481 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.07.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Planet Labs PBC from $40.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Weiss Ratings raised Planet Labs PBC from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Planet Labs PBC from $26.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.11.

Planet Labs PBC Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $37.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.86. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $11.25 billion, a PE ratio of -27.68 and a beta of 1.99.

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $94.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.39 million. Planet Labs PBC had a negative net margin of 111.17% and a negative return on equity of 105.29%. The company’s revenue was up 42.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Planet Labs PBC will post -0.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Robert H. Schingler sold 73,683 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.07, for a total transaction of $2,584,062.81. Following the sale, the insider owned 256,488 shares in the company, valued at $8,995,034.16. This represents a 22.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, 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 business’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 transaction of $7,020,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 1,895,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,520,186.20. The trade was a 9.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 16.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,358,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $381,750,000 after buying an additional 806,818 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in Planet Labs PBC by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 7,820,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,704,000 after buying an additional 20,400 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Planet Labs PBC by 320.3% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,678,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,429,000 after acquiring an additional 5,851,758 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Planet Labs PBC by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,702,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,475,000 after acquiring an additional 71,381 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,137,871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,599,000 after acquiring an additional 301,757 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.71% of the company’s stock.

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.