Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) shares hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $24.97 and last traded at $23.3480, with a volume of 4380363 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $22.71.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on PL shares. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Planet Labs PBC from $16.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. National Bankshares set a $12.30 price target on Planet Labs PBC in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Planet Labs PBC from $4.50 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.74.

Planet Labs PBC Trading Up 12.5%

The company has a market cap of $8.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -60.76 and a beta of 1.94. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 4.00 and a current ratio of 4.00.

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 10th. The company reported ($0.19) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.17). Planet Labs PBC had a negative net margin of 45.87% and a negative return on equity of 31.01%. The firm had revenue of $81.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.02 million. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 32.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Planet Labs PBC will post -0.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Planet Labs PBC news, insider Robert H. Schingler sold 73,782 shares of Planet Labs PBC stock in a transaction on Friday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.35, for a total transaction of $1,427,681.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,164,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,537,506.15. This trade represents a 5.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 17.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Planet Labs PBC

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 146.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,195 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Planet Labs PBC during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Planet Labs PBC during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 59.3% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,337 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in Planet Labs PBC during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Institutional investors own 41.71% of the company’s stock.

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.