Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) Trading Down 9.4% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB) traded down 9.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on the stock from $68.00 to $67.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Rocket Lab traded as low as $44.37 and last traded at $45.25. 26,222,923 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 26% from the average session volume of 20,823,355 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.97.

A number of other analysts have also commented on RKLB. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Rocket Lab from $50.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Rocket Lab from $30.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Rocket Lab from $55.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of Rocket Lab in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of Rocket Lab in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $83.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.33.

Insider Activity at Rocket Lab

In other news, CFO Adam C. Spice sold 874,588 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.01, for a total value of $41,988,969.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,057,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $98,799,250.89. This represents a 29.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Frank Klein sold 45,535 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.97, for a total value of $2,229,848.95. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,320,291 shares in the company, valued at $64,654,650.27. The trade was a 3.33% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 5,406,361 shares of company stock valued at $267,483,973 in the last ninety days. 11.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rocket Lab

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Rocket Lab by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,432 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $500,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in Rocket Lab by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 12,352 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $442,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Rocket Lab by 22.1% during the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,337 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. Parvin Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Rocket Lab by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC now owns 3,725 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $133,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance increased its position in Rocket Lab by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 6,478 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the period. 71.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rocket Lab Stock Down 9.4%

The stock has a market cap of $21.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -119.08 and a beta of 2.16. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $55.86 and its 200-day moving average is $42.57. The company has a current ratio of 3.18, a quick ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The rocket manufacturer reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.02. Rocket Lab had a negative net margin of 35.64% and a negative return on equity of 27.26%. The company had revenue of $155.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $152.45 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.10) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 48.0% on a year-over-year basis. Rocket Lab has set its Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Rocket Lab Corporation will post -0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Rocket Lab

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.