Rocket Lab USA (NASDAQ:RKLB) Trading 28.3% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:RKLB - Get Free Report) shot up 28.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $22.00 to $35.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Rocket Lab USA traded as high as $31.64 and last traded at $30.80. 32,998,601 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 92% from the average session volume of 17,228,502 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.00.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on RKLB. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Rocket Lab USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target 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. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of Rocket Lab USA from $7.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Rocket Lab USA from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Rocket Lab USA from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rocket Lab USA currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $20.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Matthew Ocko sold 2,000,000 shares of Rocket Lab USA stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.73, for a total transaction of $35,460,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,351,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $41,685,623.55. The trade was a 45.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Alexander R. Slusky sold 50,000 shares of Rocket Lab USA stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 534,675 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,297,525. This represents a 8.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,114,530 shares of company stock valued at $38,168,400 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 13.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rocket Lab USA

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC bought a new stake in Rocket Lab USA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $8,930,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Rocket Lab USA by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,253,035 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock valued at $80,317,000 after buying an additional 898,223 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Rocket Lab USA by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,878,357 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock valued at $28,006,000 after buying an additional 532,207 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Rocket Lab USA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,651,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in Rocket Lab USA by 46.8% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 691,387 shares of the rocket manufacturer's stock valued at $6,727,000 after buying an additional 220,432 shares in the last quarter. 71.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rocket Lab USA Stock Up 30.3 %

The business's fifty day moving average is $24.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.52. The company has a market cap of $15.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -84.51 and a beta of 1.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.58.

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.