Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Shares of Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $27.07, but opened at $28.60. Planet Labs PBC shares last traded at $29.7470, with a volume of 2,256,445 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a research note on Friday, June 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Northland Securities set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of Planet Labs PBC from $20.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.11.

Planet Labs PBC Stock Up 5.9%

The business’s 50 day moving average is $37.32 and its 200 day moving average is $29.86. The company has a quick ratio of 2.78, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The company has a market cap of $11.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -29.05 and a beta of 1.99.

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.01. Planet Labs PBC had a negative return on equity of 105.29% and a negative net margin of 111.17%.The business had revenue of $94.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.39 million. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Planet Labs PBC will post -0.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Ashley F. Johnson sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.10, for a total transaction of $7,020,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 1,895,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $66,520,186.20. This trade represents a 9.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Robert H. Schingler sold 73,683 shares of Planet Labs PBC stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.07, for a total value of $2,584,062.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 256,488 shares in the company, valued at $8,995,034.16. This trade represents a 22.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 16.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Planet Labs PBC during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Planet Labs PBC in the first quarter worth $28,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its holdings in Planet Labs PBC by 40.9% in the first quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 1,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Planet Labs PBC during the first quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 92.5% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 745 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.