Rocket Lab USA (NASDAQ:RKLB) Trading Down 4.3% – Here’s Why

Shares of Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:RKLB) traded down 4.3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $26.20 and last traded at $26.75. 8,781,765 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 49% from the average session volume of 17,068,922 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.95.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RKLB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Rocket Lab USA from $5.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Rocket Lab USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. JMP Securities initiated coverage on shares of Rocket Lab USA in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Rocket Lab USA from $13.50 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Rocket Lab USA from $10.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.44.

Rocket Lab USA Trading Down 1.9 %

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $21.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 2.58 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The stock has a market cap of $13.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -74.11 and a beta of 1.98.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rocket Lab USA

In other news, Director Alexander R. Slusky sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.00, for a total transaction of $1,150,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 534,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,297,525. This represents a 8.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Matthew Ocko sold 2,000,000 shares of Rocket Lab USA stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.73, for a total value of $35,460,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,351,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,685,623.55. The trade was a 45.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,114,530 shares of company stock worth $38,168,400. Insiders own 13.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RKLB. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Rocket Lab USA by 23.4% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 47,002 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 8,928 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Rocket Lab USA during the 2nd quarter valued at about $67,000. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of Rocket Lab USA by 24.2% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 480,154 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,305,000 after acquiring an additional 93,447 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of Rocket Lab USA by 97.8% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 20,230 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in Rocket Lab USA by 21.2% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 89,008 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 15,565 shares in the last quarter. 71.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Rocket Lab USA Company Profile

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.