Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT) Shares Gap Up After Insider Buying Activity

Shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RCKT - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday following insider buying activity. The stock had previously closed at $5.91, but opened at $6.05. Rocket Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $6.68, with a volume of 318,589 shares trading hands.

Specifically, CEO Gaurav Shah acquired 20,000 shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $5.08 per share, for a total transaction of $101,600.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 792,680 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,026,814.40. This trade represents a 2.59 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Kinnari Patel purchased 21,099 shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $4.70 per share, with a total value of $99,165.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 26,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $125,837.80. This trade represents a 371.79 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $15.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Chardan Capital lowered their price target on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $62.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.00.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 6.05 and a current ratio of 6.05. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $7.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.69. The company has a market cap of $674.97 million, a PE ratio of -2.30 and a beta of 1.00.

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 the consensus estimate of ($0.68) by $0.06. On average, analysts predict that Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -2.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rocket Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of RCKT. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 33,166.7% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,996 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,990 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 319.8% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,916 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 3,745 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 51.9% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 5,385 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 1,840 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 159.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,475 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 3,366 shares during the period. Finally, Virtus ETF Advisers LLC raised its position in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 40.4% during the 4th quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC now owns 5,656 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 1,628 shares during the last quarter. 98.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Rocket Pharmaceuticals

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.