Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) Trading Down 2.8% on Insider Selling

Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB)’s share price dropped 2.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $53.09 and last traded at $53.96. Approximately 23,635,830 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 14% from the average daily volume of 20,787,281 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.49.

Specifically, CEO Peter Beck sold 939,746 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.73, for a total transaction of $51,432,298.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Peter Beck sold 1,560,254 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.47, for a total value of $89,667,797.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 939,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,007,202.62. This trade represents a 62.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In related news, Director Merline Saintil sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $975,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 398,529 shares in the company, valued at $25,904,385. This represents a 3.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on RKLB. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on Rocket Lab in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $83.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Rocket Lab in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Rocket Lab from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, December 13th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $63.00 price target on shares of Rocket Lab in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Rocket Lab from $50.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Rocket Lab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.17.

Rocket Lab Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $54.38 and a 200 day moving average of $46.74. The company has a market cap of $32.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -157.68 and a beta of 2.20. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 3.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The rocket manufacturer reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.02. Rocket Lab had a negative net margin of 35.64% and a negative return on equity of 27.26%. The business had revenue of $155.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $152.45 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.10) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 48.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Rocket Lab Corporation will post -0.38 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rocket Lab

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Rocket Lab in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Rocket Lab in the third quarter worth $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Rocket Lab by 352.5% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 543 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new position in Rocket Lab in the third quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new position in Rocket Lab during the third quarter valued at $35,000. 71.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab USA, Inc, a space company, provides launch services and space systems solutions for the space and defense industries. The company provides launch services, spacecraft design services, spacecraft components, spacecraft manufacturing, and other spacecraft and on-orbit management solutions; and constellation management services, as well as designs and manufactures small and medium-class rockets.