Rocket Lab USA (NASDAQ:RKLB) Shares Down 3.2% – Here’s What Happened

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:RKLB)’s stock price was down 3.2% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $25.18 and last traded at $25.47. Approximately 13,057,035 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 6% from the average daily volume of 12,281,271 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.32.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on RKLB shares. TD Cowen upgraded Rocket Lab USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup increased their price target on Rocket Lab USA from $13.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Rocket Lab USA from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Rocket Lab USA from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, JMP Securities began coverage on shares of Rocket Lab USA in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.44.

Rocket Lab USA Price Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $20.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.62. The company has a market capitalization of $12.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -67.46 and a beta of 1.96. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Matthew Ocko sold 2,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.73, for a total value of $35,460,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,351,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,685,623.55. This represents a 45.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.00, for a total transaction of $1,150,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 534,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,297,525. The trade was a 8.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,114,530 shares of company stock worth $38,168,400 in the last three months. 13.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rocket Lab USA

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in 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 worth $80,317,000 after acquiring an additional 898,223 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Rocket Lab USA by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,878,357 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $28,006,000 after purchasing an additional 532,207 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Rocket Lab USA by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,856,973 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $13,713,000 after purchasing an additional 284,360 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Rocket Lab USA during the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,469,000. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rocket Lab USA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $8,930,000. Institutional investors own 71.78% of the company’s stock.

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.