Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RCKT) Short Interest Update

Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RCKT) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 18,580,923 shares, a growth of 26.5% from the March 15th total of 14,693,507 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,423,862 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days. Currently, 22.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Gaurav Shah sold 12,279 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.31, for a total transaction of $40,643.49. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,052,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,482,268.95. This trade represents a 1.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Martin Wilson sold 12,253 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.31, for a total transaction of $40,557.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 683,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,261,974.56. This trade represents a 1.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 29,415 shares of company stock worth $97,398 over the last three months. 24.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prudential Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its position in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 94.4% in the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 12,202 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 5,926 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Rocket Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. 98.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on RCKT shares. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $11.00 price target on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley set a $5.00 price objective on Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Lifesci Capital upgraded Rocket Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. TD Cowen raised Rocket Pharmaceuticals to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Rocket Pharmaceuticals to $3.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.86.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $3.91 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 6.38, a quick ratio of 6.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Rocket Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $2.19 and a twelve month high of $8.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $426.66 million, a PE ratio of -1.95 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $4.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $3.68.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.38) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.04. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.62) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Rocket Pharmaceuticals will post -2.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.