Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) Trading Up 4.6% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB) shot up 4.6% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $122.63 and last traded at $119.95. 24,221,347 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 0% from the average session volume of 24,144,395 shares. The stock had previously closed at $114.70.

Key Rocket Lab News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street sentiment improved after Stifel raised its price target on Rocket Lab to a Street-high $132 from $110 and kept a Buy rating, reinforcing the view that growth can continue. Rocket Lab Stock (RKLB) Lands a New Street-High Target as Top Stifel Analyst Sees Stronger Growth Ahead
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage continues to highlight Rocket Lab’s strong operating momentum, including its first-ever $200 million revenue quarter, 63%+ year-over-year revenue growth, expanding gross margin, and a backlog that reached $2.2 billion. Rocket Lab: Don’t Hold Your Breath On Neutron
• Positive Sentiment: The broader space sector is getting a lift from SpaceX IPO excitement, and Rocket Lab is being viewed as a public-market way to play the space race, which has helped sentiment across RKLB and other space stocks. There’s More to Space Stocks Than SpaceX
• Neutral Sentiment: Some analysts and commentators are warning that the stock’s big rally may have outrun fundamentals, pointing to valuation risk and possible volatility if expectations become harder to beat. We’re Holding Rocket Lab Despite 356% Rally
• Negative Sentiment: Bearish pieces argue investors should be cautious ahead of a possible SpaceX IPO “reality check,” with concerns that competition and sky-high expectations could eventually pressure RKLB’s multiple. Rocket Lab: Sell Before The SpaceX IPO Reality Check

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RKLB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Rocket Lab from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Rocket Lab from $73.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Rocket Lab in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Rocket Lab in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Rocket Lab from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.88.

Rocket Lab Stock Down 8.2%

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $97.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.69. The company has a current ratio of 4.47, a quick ratio of 4.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock has a market cap of $63.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -344.00 and a beta of 2.49.

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The rocket manufacturer reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.07). The company had revenue of $200.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $189.65 million. Rocket Lab had a negative net margin of 26.87% and a negative return on equity of 11.72%. Rocket Lab’s revenue for the quarter was up 63.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.12) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Rocket Lab Corporation will post -0.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Rocket Lab news, SVP Arjun Kampani sold 23,804 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.43, for a total transaction of $3,509,423.72. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 352,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,999,298.15. This trade represents a 6.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Marvin Bradford Clevenger sold 3,500 shares of Rocket Lab stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.67, for a total value of $513,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 473,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,517,913.25. This trade represents a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 485,515 shares of company stock worth $66,909,882. 8.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rocket Lab

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Rocket Lab by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 47,420,192 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,308,033,000 after acquiring an additional 5,610,469 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its stake in Rocket Lab by 47.2% in the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 17,851,446 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,245,317,000 after purchasing an additional 5,725,536 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Rocket Lab by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 16,200,726 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,130,172,000 after purchasing an additional 1,738,623 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Rocket Lab by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,520,223 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $873,411,000 after purchasing an additional 120,652 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rocket Lab by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,004,724 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $626,605,000 after purchasing an additional 825,158 shares during the period. 71.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rocket Lab Company Profile

Rocket Lab is an aerospace company that provides launch services, spacecraft, and space systems for commercial and government customers. The company’s primary launch vehicle is Electron, a small-lift orbital rocket designed to deploy small satellites and rideshare payloads to low Earth orbit. Rocket Lab also develops and manufactures the Rutherford engine, noted for its electric-pump-fed design and additive-manufactured components, which powers Electron and supports the company’s propulsion capabilities.