Rocket Lab USA (NASDAQ:RKLB) Trading Down 0.7% – Here’s What Happened

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:RKLB)’s share price traded down 0.7% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $19.61 and last traded at $20.44. 4,772,565 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 15,045,312 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.59.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on RKLB. TD Cowen upgraded Rocket Lab USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Rocket Lab USA from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Rocket Lab USA from $21.00 to $18.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Rocket Lab USA from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Rocket Lab USA from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rocket Lab USA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.72.

Rocket Lab USA Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $21.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.94 billion, a PE ratio of -53.41 and a beta of 2.08. The company has a current ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Rocket Lab USA (NASDAQ:RKLB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The rocket manufacturer reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $132.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $130.58 million. Rocket Lab USA had a negative net margin of 51.76% and a negative return on equity of 39.47%. Research analysts expect that Rocket Lab USA, Inc. will post -0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Frank Klein sold 44,553 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.18, for a total transaction of $809,973.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,419,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,806,128.22. This represents a 3.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 13.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rocket Lab USA

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RKLB. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Rocket Lab USA by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,253,035 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $80,317,000 after acquiring an additional 898,223 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in Rocket Lab USA by 149.2% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 50,408 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $490,000 after acquiring an additional 30,178 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Rocket Lab USA by 22.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 227,438 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,213,000 after acquiring an additional 41,551 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in Rocket Lab USA during the 3rd quarter valued at $107,000. Finally, Udine Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Rocket Lab USA in the 4th quarter worth $1,342,000. Institutional investors own 71.78% of the company’s stock.

About Rocket Lab USA

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.