Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) Stock Price Up 13.4% – Still a Buy?

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) shot up 13.4% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $36.16 and last traded at $36.10. 7,158,984 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 46% from the average session volume of 13,336,483 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.83.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. National Bank Financial set a $12.30 price target on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Planet Labs PBC from $30.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Craig Hallum reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Zacks Research raised Planet Labs PBC from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on Planet Labs PBC from $20.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Planet Labs PBC currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.43.

Planet Labs PBC Stock Up 13.6%

The firm has a market cap of $11.34 billion, a PE ratio of -46.37 and a beta of 1.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.37. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $25.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.37.

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by ($0.43). Planet Labs PBC had a negative net margin of 80.22% and a negative return on equity of 69.61%. The company had revenue of $86.82 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $78.17 million. The company’s revenue was up 41.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Planet Labs PBC will post -0.37 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Ashley F. Johnson sold 150,731 shares of Planet Labs PBC stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.01, for a total transaction of $4,071,244.31. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,956,101 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,834,288.01. The trade was a 7.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Vijaya Gadde sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total value of $535,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 250,169 shares in the company, valued at $6,697,024.13. This trade represents a 7.40% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 292,348 shares of company stock valued at $7,323,958 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 17.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,358,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $381,750,000 after acquiring an additional 806,818 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in Planet Labs PBC by 0.3% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 7,820,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,704,000 after purchasing an additional 20,400 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Planet Labs PBC by 320.3% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,678,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,429,000 after purchasing an additional 5,851,758 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Planet Labs PBC by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,702,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,475,000 after purchasing an additional 71,381 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,137,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,599,000 after buying an additional 301,757 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.71% of the company’s stock.

About Planet Labs PBC

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.