Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?
by Jessica Moore · The Cerbat GemRocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB – Get Free Report)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $139.76 and last traded at $136.9070, with a volume of 13843893 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $125.45.
More Rocket Lab News
Here are the key news stories impacting Rocket Lab this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Rocket Lab won a $90 million U.S. Space Force contract, marking its first satellite production program for geostationary orbit and broadening its defense revenue opportunities. Rocket Lab Awarded $90M Contract to Build GEO Satellites Hosting Space Domain Awareness Payload for U.S. Space Force
- Positive Sentiment: The company reported mission success on its 9th Electron launch for Synspective, underscoring steady execution in its launch business and strong commercial customer relationships. Mission Success: Rocket Lab Completes 9th Electron Launch for Synspective
- Neutral Sentiment: Commentary tied Rocket Lab to the broader SpaceX IPO and space-infrastructure theme, which may be helping sentiment across the sector but is not a direct fundamental update for RKLB. SpaceX Gets the Attention, But These 4 Stocks Could Get the Returns
- Negative Sentiment: Recent filings for a potential $3 billion share sale continue to raise dilution concerns, which has been a headwind and may limit upside if investors focus on capital issuance risk. Rocket Lab Stock Plunges as $3B Share Sale Raises Dilution Fears
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of brokerages have commented on RKLB. Clear Str upgraded Rocket Lab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Zacks Research lowered Rocket Lab from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Rocket Lab in a research report on Friday, March 13th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Rocket Lab from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Craig Hallum upgraded Rocket Lab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $98.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.19.
View Our Latest Stock Report on Rocket Lab
Rocket Lab Price Performance
The stock has a market capitalization of $77.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -416.67 and a beta of 2.30. The company has a current ratio of 4.47, a quick ratio of 4.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.72.
Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The rocket manufacturer reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $200.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $189.65 million. Rocket Lab had a negative return on equity of 11.72% and a negative net margin of 26.87%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 63.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.12) EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Rocket Lab Corporation will post -0.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Insider Buying and Selling at Rocket Lab
In other news, Director Merline Saintil sold 18,126 shares of Rocket Lab stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $1,360,175.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 261,903 shares in the company, valued at $19,653,201.12. The trade was a 6.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Peter Beck sold 18,857 shares of Rocket Lab stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.59, for a total value of $1,312,258.63. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 884,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,523,475.15. This represents a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 333,449 shares of company stock worth $28,295,233 over the last quarter. Insiders own 8.40% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rocket Lab
Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RKLB. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Rocket Lab by 114.0% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 174,308 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,117,000 after buying an additional 92,849 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Rocket Lab by 1,812.1% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 36,807 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $658,000 after acquiring an additional 34,882 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Rocket Lab by 53.8% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 15,745 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 5,507 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Rocket Lab by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 773,548 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $13,831,000 after acquiring an additional 90,758 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in shares of Rocket Lab by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 67,584 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,206,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. 71.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
About Rocket Lab
Rocket Lab is an aerospace company that provides launch services, spacecraft, and space systems for commercial and government customers. The company’s primary launch vehicle is Electron, a small-lift orbital rocket designed to deploy small satellites and rideshare payloads to low Earth orbit. Rocket Lab also develops and manufactures the Rutherford engine, noted for its electric-pump-fed design and additive-manufactured components, which powers Electron and supports the company’s propulsion capabilities.