Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT) Stock Price Down 7.5% - Time to Sell?

Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RCKT - Get Free Report) traded down 7.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $5.92 and last traded at $6.04. 387,590 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 2,083,956 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.53.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on RCKT. BMO Capital Markets started 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. Chardan Capital cut their price target on Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $62.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $15.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.00.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 13.3 %

The company has a market cap of $764.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.61 and a beta of 1.00. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $7.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 6.05 and a current ratio of 6.05.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 3rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.62) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.68) by $0.06. Sell-side analysts expect that Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -2.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Gaurav Shah acquired 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost 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 approximately $4,026,814.40. This trade represents a 2.59 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Aaron Ondrey sold 7,489 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.29, for a total value of $39,616.81. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 129,650 shares of the company's stock, valued at $685,848.50. This represents a 5.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 28.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rocket Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 796.2% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 54,921 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $690,000 after acquiring an additional 48,793 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 72.6% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 70,304 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $884,000 after purchasing an additional 29,564 shares in the last quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP lifted its stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 403.9% during the 4th quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 84,529 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,063,000 after acquiring an additional 67,755 shares in the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Rocket Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $1,895,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $141,000. Institutional investors own 98.39% of the company's stock.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.