Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT) Trading 5.5% Higher on Insider Buying Activity

Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RCKT - Get Free Report) rose 5.5% during trading on Monday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The company traded as high as $5.70 and last traded at $5.56. 1,333,530 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 8% from the average daily volume of 1,233,542 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.27.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on RCKT. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Wedbush initiated coverage on Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 30th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.00.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.9 %

The company has a quick ratio of 6.05, a current ratio of 6.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $7.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.69. The company has a market capitalization of $674.97 million, a P/E ratio of -2.30 and a beta of 1.00.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 3rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.62) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.68) by $0.06. As a group, equities analysts predict that Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -2.83 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rocket Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RCKT. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 24.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,995,177 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $175,919,000 after buying an additional 2,753,033 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,577,595 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $82,680,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040,655 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 111.0% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,004,039 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $50,343,000 after purchasing an additional 2,106,699 shares during the period. Suvretta Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $32,267,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,752,975 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $22,041,000 after buying an additional 135,109 shares in the last quarter. 98.39% of the stock is currently owned by 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.