Renaissance Technologies LLC Buys New Stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RCKT)

Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RCKT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 218,519 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $2,747,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.24% of Rocket Pharmaceuticals at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 319.8% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,916 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 3,745 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 51.9% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 5,385 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 1,840 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 159.6% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,475 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 3,366 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Rocket Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $139,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.39% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on RCKT shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wedbush started coverage on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 30th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Kinnari Patel purchased 21,099 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $4.70 per share, for a total transaction of $99,165.30. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 26,774 shares in the company, valued at $125,837.80. This trade represents a 371.79 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Aaron Ondrey sold 7,489 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.29, for a total value of $39,616.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 129,650 shares in the company, valued at $685,848.50. This trade represents a 5.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 28.50% of the company's stock.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of RCKT traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $7.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 761,165 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,328,911. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $7.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $782.13 million, a P/E ratio of -2.67 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 6.05, a quick ratio of 6.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $4.55 and a 1-year high of $26.98.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 3rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.62) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.68) by $0.06. Analysts predict that Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -2.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a late-stage biotechnology company that focuses on developing gene therapies for rare and devastating diseases. It has three clinical-stage ex vivo lentiviral vector programs for fanconi anemia, a genetic defect in the bone marrow that reduces production of blood cells or promotes the production of faulty blood cells; leukocyte adhesion deficiency-I, a genetic disorder that causes the immune system to malfunction; and pyruvate kinase deficiency, a rare red blood cell autosomal recessive disorder that results in chronic non-spherocytic hemolytic anemia.