Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) Trading Down 2.3% – Time to Sell?

Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB) dropped 2.3% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $70.08 and last traded at $70.31. 19,027,815 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 18% from the average session volume of 23,149,115 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.98.

Key Stories Impacting Rocket Lab

Here are the key news stories impacting Rocket Lab this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst confidence in Neutron and Iridium: Cantor Fitzgerald maintained an Overweight rating and a $122 price target, identifying Rocket Lab’s Neutron rocket, strong launch execution, $2.36 billion backlog and planned Iridium acquisition as key catalysts. Rocket Lab Analyst Calls Neutron Launch the Most Material Catalyst
• Positive Sentiment: ARK Invest bought heavily: Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest purchased approximately $25.1 million to $25.7 million of RKLB shares across three exchange-traded funds, providing a notable vote of confidence and potential buying support. Rocket Lab or Alphabet: Cathie Wood Buys $25.1M of One Stock, Sells $5.8M of the Other
• Positive Sentiment: Broader space-investment momentum: Private commercial SpaceTech investment reached a record $23 billion in the year ended June, nearly 140% above the prior period. The trend may improve investor appetite for space-related stocks, including Rocket Lab. Space Economy Investment Surges
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic expansion: CEO Peter Beck is presenting Rocket Lab as a broader space company spanning launch, spacecraft, communications and services. Management argues the Iridium transaction could create a vertically integrated competitor to larger players such as SpaceX. Rocket Lab CEO Puts Iridium Deal Alongside SpaceX and Amazon’s Spectrum Bets

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on RKLB. Wall Street Zen cut Rocket Lab from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Rocket Lab in a research report on Friday, September 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Rocket Lab in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Berenberg Bank assumed coverage on Rocket Lab in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $83.00 target price for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Rocket Lab in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $83.00 price target on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.32.

Rocket Lab Trading Down 2.3%

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $69.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.34. The stock has a market cap of $42.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -260.40 and a beta of 2.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 5.48 and a quick ratio of 4.98.

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The rocket manufacturer reported ($0.08) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $234.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $231.62 million. Rocket Lab had a negative return on equity of 6.48% and a negative net margin of 21.51%. On average, research analysts expect that Rocket Lab Corporation will post -0.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Rocket Lab

In other news, CFO Adam C. Spice sold 140,157 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.63, for a total value of $8,778,032.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,155,967 shares in the company, valued at $72,398,213.21. This represents a 10.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Marvin Clevenger sold 15,051 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.63, for a total transaction of $1,048,001.13. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 458,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,954,878.12. The trade was a 3.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 3,536,371 shares of company stock valued at $303,442,641 in the last three months. Company insiders own 8.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rocket Lab

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RKLB. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Rocket Lab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in Rocket Lab during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Rocket Lab in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Highland Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rocket Lab in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, NBH Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Rocket Lab in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.78% of the company’s stock.

Rocket Lab Company Profile

Rocket Lab USA, Inc is a space company that provides launch services and space systems for commercial, civil and national security customers. The company develops and operates launch vehicles, spacecraft and satellite components, with activities spanning the design, manufacture and operation of space hardware.

Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket is a small-lift orbital launch vehicle designed to deploy small satellites. The company also develops HASTE, a suborbital test vehicle based on Electron technology, and is developing Neutron, a larger reusable launch vehicle intended to support a broader range of missions.