Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT) Stock Rating Lowered by Needham & Company LLC

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT) was downgraded by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. They presently have a $42.00 target price on the biotechnology company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also commented on RCKT. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $15.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Chardan Capital raised their price target on Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Rocket Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.46.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 6.4%

Rocket Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $2.48 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $264.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.90 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.68. Rocket Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $2.19 and a 12 month high of $26.98. The company has a current ratio of 6.05, a quick ratio of 6.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 13th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.58) by $0.02. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.66) earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Rocket Pharmaceuticals will post -2.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Rocket Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CEO Gaurav Shah bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Aaron Ondrey sold 7,489 shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 129,650 shares in the company, valued at $685,848.50. This trade represents a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 24.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rocket Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 33,166.7% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,996 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,990 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 83.6% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 9,024 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 4,108 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 51.9% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 5,385 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 1,840 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 159.6% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in Rocket Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at $69,000. 98.39% of the stock is currently 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.