Rocket Lab USA (NASDAQ:RKLB) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:RKLB - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $22.00 to $35.00. The stock had previously closed at $24.00, but opened at $26.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Rocket Lab USA shares last traded at $28.73, with a volume of 10,294,357 shares traded.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Bank of America upped their target price on Rocket Lab USA from $10.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Rocket Lab USA from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of Rocket Lab USA from $7.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Rocket Lab USA from $12.00 to $13.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued 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 Transactions at Rocket Lab USA

In other news, Director Alexander R. Slusky sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.00, for a total transaction of $1,150,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 534,675 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,297,525. This represents a 8.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Arjun Kampani sold 28,562 shares of Rocket Lab USA stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.15, for a total transaction of $689,772.30. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 608,996 shares in the company, valued at $14,707,253.40. This represents a 4.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,114,530 shares of company stock valued at $38,168,400 in the last ninety days. 13.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rocket Lab USA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in Rocket Lab USA by 46.8% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 691,387 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock worth $6,727,000 after buying an additional 220,432 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Rocket Lab USA by 22.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,878,357 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock valued at $28,006,000 after acquiring an additional 532,207 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rocket Lab USA by 12.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,253,035 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock worth $80,317,000 after acquiring an additional 898,223 shares during the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rocket Lab USA during the third quarter worth approximately $449,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in Rocket Lab USA by 149.2% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 50,408 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock valued at $490,000 after purchasing an additional 30,178 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.78% of the company's stock.

Rocket Lab USA Trading 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $24.23 and a 200 day moving average of $13.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -84.51 and a beta of 1.98.

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.