Rocket Lab USA (NASDAQ:RKLB) Trading 4.7% Higher - Here's What Happened

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:RKLB - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 4.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $24.60 and last traded at $24.32. 6,803,157 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 44% from the average session volume of 12,151,901 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.22.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on RKLB shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Rocket Lab USA from $13.50 to $22.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. JMP Securities began coverage on shares of Rocket Lab USA in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of Rocket Lab USA from $7.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Rocket Lab USA from $5.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Rocket Lab USA from $13.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $17.44.

Rocket Lab USA Stock Up 7.1 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $17.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.12. The firm has a market cap of $12.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -67.21 and a beta of 1.96. The company has a current ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Insider Transactions at Rocket Lab USA

In other Rocket Lab USA news, Director Alexander R. Slusky sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.00, for a total value of $1,150,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 534,675 shares in the company, valued at $12,297,525. This trade represents a 8.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Matthew Ocko sold 2,000,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.73, for a total transaction of $35,460,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,351,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,685,623.55. The trade was a 45.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,114,530 shares of company stock worth $38,168,400 over the last three months. 13.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rocket Lab USA

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in Rocket Lab USA in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $107,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Rocket Lab USA by 34.0% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 21,226 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock valued at $207,000 after purchasing an additional 5,381 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rocket Lab USA in the third quarter valued at $106,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised 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 valued at $80,317,000 after purchasing an additional 898,223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Rocket Lab USA by 22.4% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 227,438 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock worth $2,213,000 after purchasing an additional 41,551 shares during the period. 71.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.