Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) Trading Up 2% – Here’s Why

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) shares shot up 2% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $29.14 and last traded at $28.8020. Approximately 15,183,269 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 12% from the average daily volume of 13,583,872 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.23.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Northland Securities set a $50.00 target price on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a report on Friday, June 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of Planet Labs PBC from $20.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Planet Labs PBC from $26.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Planet Labs PBC from $40.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.11.

Planet Labs PBC Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $10.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -25.26 and a beta of 1.99. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.06. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.01. Planet Labs PBC had a negative net margin of 111.17% and a negative return on equity of 105.29%. The firm had revenue of $94.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.39 million. The business’s revenue was up 42.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Planet Labs PBC will post -0.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Planet Labs PBC news, CFO Ashley F. Johnson sold 200,000 shares of Planet Labs PBC stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.10, for a total value of $7,020,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,895,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,520,186.20. The trade was a 9.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert H. Schingler sold 73,683 shares of Planet Labs PBC stock in a transaction on Monday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.07, for a total transaction of $2,584,062.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 256,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,995,034.16. This represents a 22.32% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 16.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,358,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $381,750,000 after purchasing an additional 806,818 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted 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 acquiring an additional 20,400 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted 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 grew its stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,702,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,475,000 after acquiring an additional 71,381 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,137,871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,599,000 after acquiring an additional 301,757 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.