Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT) Rating Lowered to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Saturday.

RCKT has been the subject of several other reports. Chardan Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $11.00 price objective on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings raised Rocket Pharmaceuticals from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Rocket Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.88.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.9%

Rocket Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $3.44 on Friday. Rocket Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $2.53 and a twelve month high of $5.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 6.12 and a current ratio of 6.12. The firm has a market cap of $375.61 million, a PE ratio of -1.84 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $3.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.65.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.42) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.41) by ($0.01). During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.56) EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Rocket Pharmaceuticals will post -1.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Gaurav Shah sold 55,684 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.09, for a total value of $172,063.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,061,724 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,280,727.16. This represents a 4.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Sarbani Chaudhuri sold 17,650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.84, for a total transaction of $67,776.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 267,510 shares in the company, valued at $1,027,238.40. The trade was a 6.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 83,733 shares of company stock valued at $275,307 over the last quarter. 21.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RCKT. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 148.4% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 163,622 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,091,000 after purchasing an additional 97,758 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 121.8% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 747,147 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,983,000 after purchasing an additional 410,238 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in Rocket Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at approximately $189,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 24.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 995,690 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,641,000 after purchasing an additional 192,905 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,030,891 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,976,000 after purchasing an additional 36,847 shares during the period. 98.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Rocket Pharmaceuticals

Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing gene therapies for rare, inherited pediatric diseases. The company employs a proprietary adeno-associated virus (AAV) and lentiviral vector platform to deliver functional copies of genes in patients with genetic deficiencies. Its programs target a spectrum of disorders, including Fanconi anemia, leukocyte adhesion deficiency type I and Danon disease, with the goal of delivering one-time treatments that address the underlying causes of disease rather than merely managing symptoms.

The company’s pipeline comprises multiple product candidates in various stages of development.