Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT) Receives “Buy” Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $52.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 175.13% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Chardan Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $49.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.75.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RCKT opened at $18.90 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $22.21 and a 200-day moving average of $24.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a PE ratio of -6.59 and a beta of 1.13. Rocket Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $14.89 and a 12 month high of $32.53. The company has a current ratio of 10.47, a quick ratio of 10.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.74) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.72) by ($0.02). During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.82) EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Rocket Pharmaceuticals will post -2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Mark Andrew White sold 3,026 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.39, for a total value of $61,700.14. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 72,220 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,472,565.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Mark Andrew White sold 3,026 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.39, for a total value of $61,700.14. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 72,220 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,472,565.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John Militello sold 1,079 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.35, for a total transaction of $25,194.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 53,327 shares in the company, valued at $1,245,185.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,755 shares of company stock valued at $358,654 in the last ninety days. 31.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rocket Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RCKT. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 594,665 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $17,822,000 after acquiring an additional 64,946 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 675,769 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $18,205,000 after purchasing an additional 26,823 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 60.8% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,072,910 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $32,155,000 after purchasing an additional 405,855 shares in the last quarter. Avidity Partners Management LP grew its stake in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Avidity Partners Management LP now owns 1,719,103 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $51,522,000 after buying an additional 131,674 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $332,000. 98.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a late-stage biotechnology company that focuses on developing gene therapies for rare and devastating diseases. It has three clinical-stage ex vivo lentiviral vector programs for fanconi anemia, a genetic defect in the bone marrow that reduces production of blood cells or promotes the production of faulty blood cells; leukocyte adhesion deficiency-I, a genetic disorder that causes the immune system to malfunction; and pyruvate kinase deficiency, a rare red blood cell autosomal recessive disorder that results in chronic non-spherocytic hemolytic anemia.