Needham & Company LLC Raises Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) Price Target to $40.00

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) had its price target increased by equities researchers at Needham & Company LLC to $40.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 18.51% from the company’s current price.

PL has been the subject of several other reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Planet Labs PBC from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Craig Hallum reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. National Bank Financial set a $12.30 price target on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Planet Labs PBC from $19.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.43.

Planet Labs PBC Stock Performance

NYSE PL opened at $33.75 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $25.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.59 billion, a P/E ratio of -43.27 and a beta of 1.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 4.00 and a current ratio of 4.00. Planet Labs PBC has a fifty-two week low of $2.79 and a fifty-two week high of $36.28.

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by ($0.43). Planet Labs PBC had a negative return on equity of 60.21% and a negative net margin of 80.22%.The company had revenue of $86.82 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $78.17 million. The firm’s revenue was up 41.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Planet Labs PBC will post -0.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Planet Labs PBC

In other news, CFO Ashley F. Johnson sold 150,731 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.01, for a total value of $4,071,244.31. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,956,101 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,834,288.01. The trade was a 7.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Vijaya Gadde sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total transaction of $535,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 250,169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,697,024.13. This represents a 7.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 292,348 shares of company stock valued at $7,323,958 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 17.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 320.3% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,678,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,429,000 after buying an additional 5,851,758 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Planet Labs PBC by 758.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,727,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,386,000 after acquiring an additional 3,293,333 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Planet Labs PBC by 265.6% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,450,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,787,000 after acquiring an additional 2,506,595 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in Planet Labs PBC by 257.5% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,362,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,662,000 after acquiring an additional 1,701,535 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Planet Labs PBC by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,551,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,801,000 after acquiring an additional 1,637,880 shares in the last quarter. 41.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Planet Labs PBC News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Planet Labs PBC this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 revenue beat and stronger FY27 guidance — Planet reported Q4 revenue of $86.8M (above estimates) and issued FY2027 revenue guidance well above Street expectations, underpinning investor optimism about faster growth next year. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Stronger govt. demand and expanding backlog — Management highlighted robust government and defense demand (backlog up materially), and governments seeking greater satellite access, which supports recurring revenue visibility. WSJ Coverage
• Positive Sentiment: AI and partner initiatives — Planet emphasized AI-driven product opportunities and partnerships (including work tied to Google/NVIDIA in‑orbit AI themes) that could meaningfully expand civil and commercial demand. MarketWatch
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade momentum — Multiple firms raised ratings/targets (e.g., Wedbush, Cantor Fitzgerald, Needham boosted PTs toward $40) after the results, adding buy-side validation to the move. Proactive
• Neutral Sentiment: Strong market reaction / option activity — Heavy after‑hours buying and elevated call option volume show speculative and institutional interest, amplifying intraday price moves but not changing fundamentals by itself. Invezz
• Negative Sentiment: Mixed earnings metrics — While revenue beat, reported EPS/GAAP metrics were mixed (some sources note an EPS miss), creating ambiguity between GAAP results and adjusted metrics investors are using to value the story. MarketBeat
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability outlook and heavy investment needs — Management expects to invest (e.g., ramp satellite manufacturing) to fulfill backlog; FY27 adjusted EBITDA guidance implies near‑term margin pressure despite positive FCF last year. Press Release
• Negative Sentiment: Rich valuation — The rally leaves PL with a large market cap and elevated forward multiples, increasing sensitivity to execution risk and any guide-downs. Invezz

About Planet Labs PBC

Planet Labs PBC is a public benefit corporation that operates one of the largest fleets of Earth-imaging satellites, providing high-frequency, high-resolution imagery and data analytics to a broad range of industries. The company’s multi-spectral satellite constellation captures daily snapshots of the planet, enabling clients to monitor changes in agriculture, forestry, urban development, energy infrastructure and environmental conditions. Planet’s imagery platform is designed to support timely decision-making by transforming raw satellite data into actionable insights for business and government users.

Founded in 2010 by former NASA scientists Will Marshall, Robbie Schingler and Chris Boshuizen, Planet Labs grew from a small startup into a key provider in the satellite imaging sector.