Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Friday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $4.24, but opened at $3.61. Planet Labs PBC shares last traded at $3.45, with a volume of 4,311,122 shares changing hands.

The company reported ($0.08) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $61.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $61.89 million. Planet Labs PBC had a negative return on equity of 24.16% and a negative net margin of 48.88%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.06) EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $6.30 price objective on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a research report on Friday. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Planet Labs PBC from $4.05 to $5.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Planet Labs PBC from $5.00 to $6.40 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Craig Hallum upgraded shares of Planet Labs PBC from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $7.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Planet Labs PBC from $5.00 to $8.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $6.27.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Planet Labs PBC

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in Planet Labs PBC by 790.6% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 6,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 6,072 shares during the last quarter. Monterey Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Planet Labs PBC during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Wedbush Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Planet Labs PBC during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Planet Labs PBC during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Sciencast Management LP purchased a new position in Planet Labs PBC during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.71% of the company’s stock.

Planet Labs PBC Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of -9.21 and a beta of 1.45. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.65.

About Planet Labs PBC

Planet Labs PBC engages in the design, construction, and launch constellations of satellites with the intent of providing high cadence geospatial data delivered to customers through an online platform worldwide. The company’s platform offers planet monitoring, basemap, tasking, apps, and application programming interfaces, as well as analytics and planetary variables.