Rocket Lab USA (NASDAQ:RKLB) Shares Up 1.6% - Here's Why

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:RKLB - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 1.6% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $18.00 and last traded at $18.18. Approximately 4,047,943 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 18,633,773 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on RKLB. Citigroup reduced their price target on Rocket Lab USA from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Rocket Lab USA from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Rocket Lab USA from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Rocket Lab USA from $12.00 to $13.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Rocket Lab USA from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $23.06.

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Rocket Lab USA Stock Performance

The stock's fifty day moving average price is $23.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.89. The company has a market cap of $8.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -48.57 and a beta of 2.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.58.

Rocket Lab USA (NASDAQ:RKLB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The rocket manufacturer reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by ($0.01). Rocket Lab USA had a negative return on equity of 39.47% and a negative net margin of 51.76%. The business had revenue of $132.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $130.58 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Rocket Lab USA, Inc. will post -0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Frank Klein sold 44,553 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.18, for a total value of $809,973.54. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,419,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,806,128.22. This trade represents a 3.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 13.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rocket Lab USA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RKLB. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Rocket Lab USA by 30,853.3% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,696,136 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock worth $94,141,000 after buying an additional 3,684,195 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP bought a new stake in Rocket Lab USA during the 4th quarter worth $72,623,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new position in Rocket Lab USA in the 4th quarter worth about $56,977,000. Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new position in Rocket Lab USA in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,074,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rocket Lab USA by 1,765.4% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,818,800 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock valued at $46,325,000 after purchasing an additional 1,721,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.78% of the company's stock.

About Rocket Lab USA

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.