Planet Labs PBC Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:PL)

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors bought 23,282 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 52% compared to the average volume of 15,366 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Planet Labs PBC news, CFO Ashley F. Johnson sold 150,731 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.01, for a total value of $4,071,244.31. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,956,101 shares in the company, valued at $52,834,288.01. This represents a 7.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert H. Schingler sold 73,782 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.35, for a total value of $1,427,681.70. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,164,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,537,506.15. This represents a 5.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 292,348 shares of company stock worth $7,323,958 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 17.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Planet Labs PBC

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PL. Northland Securities set a $28.00 price target on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Planet Labs PBC from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Zacks Research raised shares of Planet Labs PBC from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Planet Labs PBC from $30.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Craig Hallum reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.43.

Planet Labs PBC Stock Performance

Planet Labs PBC stock opened at $33.75 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.92. The company has a quick ratio of 4.00, a current ratio of 4.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Planet Labs PBC has a 12-month low of $2.79 and a 12-month high of $36.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.27 and a beta of 1.95.

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by ($0.43). Planet Labs PBC had a negative return on equity of 60.21% and a negative net margin of 80.22%.The company had revenue of $86.82 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $78.17 million. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Planet Labs PBC will post -0.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Planet Labs PBC News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Planet Labs PBC this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 revenue beat and stronger FY27 guidance — Planet reported Q4 revenue of $86.8M (above estimates) and issued FY2027 revenue guidance well above Street expectations, underpinning investor optimism about faster growth next year. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Stronger govt. demand and expanding backlog — Management highlighted robust government and defense demand (backlog up materially), and governments seeking greater satellite access, which supports recurring revenue visibility. WSJ Coverage
• Positive Sentiment: AI and partner initiatives — Planet emphasized AI-driven product opportunities and partnerships (including work tied to Google/NVIDIA in‑orbit AI themes) that could meaningfully expand civil and commercial demand. MarketWatch
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade momentum — Multiple firms raised ratings/targets (e.g., Wedbush, Cantor Fitzgerald, Needham boosted PTs toward $40) after the results, adding buy-side validation to the move. Proactive
• Neutral Sentiment: Strong market reaction / option activity — Heavy after‑hours buying and elevated call option volume show speculative and institutional interest, amplifying intraday price moves but not changing fundamentals by itself. Invezz
• Negative Sentiment: Mixed earnings metrics — While revenue beat, reported EPS/GAAP metrics were mixed (some sources note an EPS miss), creating ambiguity between GAAP results and adjusted metrics investors are using to value the story. MarketBeat
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability outlook and heavy investment needs — Management expects to invest (e.g., ramp satellite manufacturing) to fulfill backlog; FY27 adjusted EBITDA guidance implies near‑term margin pressure despite positive FCF last year. Press Release
• Negative Sentiment: Rich valuation — The rally leaves PL with a large market cap and elevated forward multiples, increasing sensitivity to execution risk and any guide-downs. Invezz

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.