Rocket Lab USA (NASDAQ:RKLB) Shares Up 3.2% – Here’s What Happened

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:RKLB) shares shot up 3.2% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $23.78 and last traded at $23.74. 7,834,000 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 34% from the average session volume of 11,825,741 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.01.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on RKLB. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of Rocket Lab USA from $7.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. JMP Securities began coverage on shares of Rocket Lab USA in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Rocket Lab USA from $5.25 to $13.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Rocket Lab USA from $10.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Rocket Lab USA from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.50.

Rocket Lab USA Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $14.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.54. The stock has a market cap of $11.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -64.16 and a beta of 1.96. The company has a current ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Matthew Ocko sold 2,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.73, for a total transaction of $35,460,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,351,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,685,623.55. This trade represents a 45.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Frank Klein sold 35,968 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.15, for a total transaction of $868,627.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,464,032 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,356,372.80. This trade represents a 2.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,064,530 shares of company stock worth $37,018,400 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 13.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rocket Lab USA

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Rocket Lab USA by 153.9% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 380,965 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $1,567,000 after purchasing an additional 230,931 shares during the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS boosted its stake in Rocket Lab USA by 17.7% in the second quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 114,628 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $550,000 after acquiring an additional 17,269 shares during the last quarter. Baxter Bros Inc. purchased a new position in Rocket Lab USA in the second quarter valued at about $48,000. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Rocket Lab USA by 7.5% in the second quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40,180 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 2,807 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LA Financiere DE L Echiquier boosted its stake in Rocket Lab USA by 9.4% in the second quarter. LA Financiere DE L Echiquier now owns 1,151,190 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $5,526,000 after acquiring an additional 98,643 shares during the last quarter. 71.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Rocket Lab USA

Rocket Lab USA, Inc, a space company, provides launch services and space systems solutions for the space and defense industries. The company provides launch services, spacecraft design services, spacecraft components, spacecraft manufacturing, and other spacecraft and on-orbit management solutions; and constellation management services, as well as designs and manufactures small and medium-class rockets.