Rocket Lab USA (NASDAQ:RKLB) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Shares of Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:RKLB) gapped down before the market opened on Friday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $19.83, but opened at $16.36. Rocket Lab USA shares last traded at $18.82, with a volume of 9,890,900 shares traded.

The rocket manufacturer reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by ($0.01). Rocket Lab USA had a negative return on equity of 39.47% and a negative net margin of 51.76%. The firm had revenue of $132.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $130.58 million.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RKLB has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen raised shares of Rocket Lab USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Rocket Lab USA from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Rocket Lab USA from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their target price on Rocket Lab USA from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rocket Lab USA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.61.

Insider Activity at Rocket Lab USA

In other news, Director Nina Armagno sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.63, for a total transaction of $236,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 132,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,126,107.22. The trade was a 7.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Alexander R. Slusky sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.00, for a total transaction of $1,150,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 534,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,297,525. This trade represents a 8.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 13.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rocket Lab USA

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RKLB. Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of Rocket Lab USA by 39.1% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 83,547 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $813,000 after buying an additional 23,504 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Rocket Lab USA by 33.1% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 131,076 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,275,000 after acquiring an additional 32,618 shares during the period. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Rocket Lab USA in the third quarter worth about $146,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rocket Lab USA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $132,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Rocket Lab USA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $139,000. Institutional investors own 71.78% of the company’s stock.

Rocket Lab USA Stock Up 3.1 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market cap of $10.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -55.25 and a beta of 1.99. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $26.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.91.

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.