Rocket Lab USA (NASDAQ:RKLB) Sets New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:RKLB) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $22.00 to $35.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Rocket Lab USA traded as high as $31.64 and last traded at $31.27, with a volume of 61867601 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $24.00.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on RKLB. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Rocket Lab USA from $10.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Rocket Lab USA from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of Rocket Lab USA from $7.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Rocket Lab USA from $13.50 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Rocket Lab USA from $12.00 to $13.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.06.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 value of $1,150,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 534,675 shares in the company, valued at $12,297,525. This trade represents a 8.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Matthew Ocko sold 2,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 2,351,135 shares in the company, valued at $41,685,623.55. This represents a 45.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,114,530 shares of company stock valued at $38,168,400. 13.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rocket Lab USA

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Rocket Lab USA by 478.6% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,966 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $177,000 after acquiring an additional 5,762 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Rocket Lab USA by 134.3% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,290 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 5,325 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Rocket Lab USA by 1,827.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 9,484 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 8,992 shares during the period. Smith Anglin Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Rocket Lab USA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $104,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in Rocket Lab USA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $107,000. 71.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rocket Lab USA Stock Up 30.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -84.51 and a beta of 1.98. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.52.

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.