Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) Shares Down 2.5% on Analyst Downgrade

Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB)’s share price dropped 2.5% on Wednesday after Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on the stock from $68.00 to $67.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Rocket Lab traded as low as $49.66 and last traded at $49.97. Approximately 21,746,065 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 5% from the average daily volume of 20,804,723 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.24.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on RKLB. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 target price (up previously from $65.00) on shares of Rocket Lab in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Rocket Lab in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Rocket Lab in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company. Craig Hallum started coverage on Rocket Lab in a research note on Monday, July 28th. They set a “hold” rating and a $51.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Rocket Lab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Rocket Lab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.33.

Insider Activity at Rocket Lab

In related news, SVP Arjun Kampani sold 31,185 shares of Rocket Lab stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.97, for a total value of $1,527,129.45. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 499,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,438,233.65. This trade represents a 5.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Peter Beck sold 1,436,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.75, for a total value of $70,026,547.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,500,000 shares in the company, valued at $121,875,000. This represents a 36.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 5,406,361 shares of company stock worth $267,483,973 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 11.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rocket Lab

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of RKLB. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Rocket Lab by 475.7% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 171,337 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $3,064,000 after acquiring an additional 141,577 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Rocket Lab by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,496 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $420,000 after purchasing an additional 1,749 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Rocket Lab by 180.3% in the 1st quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 26,040 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $466,000 after purchasing an additional 16,750 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Rocket Lab by 4.0% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 11,888 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $213,000 after buying an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. boosted its position in shares of Rocket Lab by 7.5% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 27,119 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $485,000 after acquiring an additional 1,890 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.78% of the company’s stock.

Rocket Lab Trading Down 2.5%

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $55.86 and its 200 day moving average is $42.57. The company has a market cap of $24.18 billion, a PE ratio of -131.50 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.18 and a quick ratio of 2.33.

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The rocket manufacturer reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $155.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $152.45 million. Rocket Lab had a negative net margin of 35.64% and a negative return on equity of 27.26%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.10) EPS. Rocket Lab has set its Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Rocket Lab Corporation will post -0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

About Rocket Lab

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.