Rocket Lab USA (NASDAQ:RKLB) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:RKLB) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $23.68 and last traded at $23.22, with a volume of 5384544 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.41.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on RKLB shares. JMP Securities initiated coverage on shares of Rocket Lab USA in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Rocket Lab USA from $5.25 to $13.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Rocket Lab USA from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Rocket Lab USA from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Rocket Lab USA from $5.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.50.

Rocket Lab USA Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 2.58 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $11.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -61.76 and a beta of 1.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Matthew Ocko sold 2,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.73, for a total value of $35,460,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,351,135 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 13.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rocket Lab USA

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of RKLB. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Rocket Lab USA by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,000,578 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $119,192,000 after purchasing an additional 2,448,789 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC bought a new position in Rocket Lab USA during the third quarter valued at about $8,930,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Rocket Lab USA by 934.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 98,176 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $10,090,000 after acquiring an additional 88,686 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Rocket Lab USA by 40.9% in the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 91,619 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock worth $440,000 after acquiring an additional 26,605 shares during the period. Finally, Venture Visionary Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rocket Lab USA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $886,000. 71.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.