Rocket Lab USA (NASDAQ:RKLB) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:RKLB) shares gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $18.42, but opened at $19.56. Rocket Lab USA shares last traded at $18.67, with a volume of 8,347,488 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on RKLB shares. Citigroup decreased their price target on Rocket Lab USA from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Rocket Lab USA from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Rocket Lab USA from $12.00 to $13.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Rocket Lab USA from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Rocket Lab USA from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rocket Lab USA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.06.

Rocket Lab USA Trading Up 1.1 %

The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The company’s 50-day moving average is $23.71 and its 200 day moving average is $19.65. The company has a market cap of $8.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -50.32 and a beta of 2.06.

Rocket Lab USA (NASDAQ:RKLB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The rocket manufacturer reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $132.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $130.58 million. Rocket Lab USA had a negative net margin of 51.76% and a negative return on equity of 39.47%. Research analysts predict that Rocket Lab USA, Inc. will post -0.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Frank Klein sold 44,553 shares of Rocket Lab USA stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.18, for a total value of $809,973.54. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,419,479 shares in the company, valued at $25,806,128.22. This trade represents a 3.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 13.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Rocket Lab USA by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,195,577 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $921,901,000 after acquiring an additional 668,093 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Rocket Lab USA by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,285,693 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $211,084,000 after purchasing an additional 32,658 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Rocket Lab USA by 30,853.3% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,696,136 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $94,141,000 after purchasing an additional 3,684,195 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Rocket Lab USA by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,227,617 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $82,207,000 after purchasing an additional 281,339 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Rocket Lab USA by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,902,212 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $73,919,000 after purchasing an additional 23,855 shares during the last quarter. 71.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.