Arizona State Retirement System Grows Holdings in Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RCKT)

Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RCKT) by 17.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,864 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,828 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Rocket Pharmaceuticals were worth $565,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 861.5% in the fourth quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 1,923 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,723 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Rocket Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 96.2% in the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,068 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,014 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 63.9% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,644 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,031 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY raised its position in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 3,205 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares during the period. 98.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RCKT opened at $22.80 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $27.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.76 and a beta of 1.07. Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $14.89 and a one year high of $32.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 7.80 and a quick ratio of 7.80.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.64) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.78) by $0.14. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.92) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Rocket Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Kinnari Patel sold 7,132 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.84, for a total value of $212,818.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 238,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,112,244.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Kinnari Patel sold 7,132 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.84, for a total transaction of $212,818.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 238,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,112,244.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David P. Southwell sold 70,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.36, for a total transaction of $1,705,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 95,160 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,318,097.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 414,740 shares of company stock valued at $11,474,727 in the last quarter. Insiders own 31.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on RCKT. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 price target on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $56.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.13.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Profile

Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a late-stage biotechnology company that focuses on developing gene therapies for rare and devastating diseases. It has three clinical-stage ex vivo lentiviral vector programs for fanconi anemia, a genetic defect in the bone marrow that reduces production of blood cells or promotes the production of faulty blood cells; leukocyte adhesion deficiency-I, a genetic disorder that causes the immune system to malfunction; and pyruvate kinase deficiency, a rare red blood cell autosomal recessive disorder that results in chronic non-spherocytic hemolytic anemia.