Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

by · The Markets Daily

Shares of Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PLGet Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $40.88 and last traded at $40.8150, with a volume of 1026178 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $38.03.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on PL shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on Planet Labs PBC from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Planet Labs PBC to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Planet Labs PBC from $20.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Planet Labs PBC from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.94.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Planet Labs PBC

Planet Labs PBC Stock Up 3.9%

The company has a market cap of $13.68 billion, a PE ratio of -50.76 and a beta of 1.83. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.37.

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PLGet Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $86.82 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $78.17 million. Planet Labs PBC had a negative return on equity of 69.61% and a negative net margin of 80.22%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 41.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Planet Labs PBC will post -0.45 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Vijaya Gadde sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total value of $535,400.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 250,169 shares in the company, valued at $6,697,024.13. This trade represents a 7.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Ashley F. Johnson sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.10, for a total value of $7,020,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 1,895,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,520,186.20. This trade represents a 9.55% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 293,683 shares of company stock worth $10,139,463 over the last quarter. 17.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Planet Labs PBC

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position 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 valued at $381,750,000 after acquiring an additional 806,818 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in Planet Labs PBC by 0.3% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 7,820,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,704,000 after buying an additional 20,400 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Planet Labs PBC by 320.3% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,678,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $151,429,000 after buying an additional 5,851,758 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 71,381 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Planet Labs PBC by 7.9% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.71% of the company’s stock.

Planet Labs PBC Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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