Wedbush Reaffirms Outperform Rating for Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT)

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reissued by analysts at Wedbush in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on RCKT. Wall Street Zen raised Rocket Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Needham & Company LLC raised Rocket Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $9.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $2.95 target price on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $11.00 target price on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Rocket Pharmaceuticals from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.77.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $2.63. 3,455,862 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,530,841. Rocket Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $2.42 and a 12-month high of $5.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $288.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.47 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 9.24 and a quick ratio of 9.24.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The biotechnology company reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.22. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.62) EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Rocket Pharmaceuticals will post -1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Martin Wilson sold 75,364 shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.40, for a total value of $256,237.60. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 598,489 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,034,862.60. This trade represents a 11.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, COO Christopher Stevens sold 36,658 shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.50, for a total value of $128,303.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 505,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,770,244. This trade represents a 6.76% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders sold 125,977 shares of company stock valued at $432,273. 21.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rocket Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RCKT. Opaleye Management Inc. increased its holdings in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Opaleye Management Inc. now owns 1,000,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,420,000 after acquiring an additional 45,000 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 524.9% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 181,147 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $620,000 after purchasing an additional 152,161 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LP boosted its stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 17.0% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 37,819 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 5,501 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Rocket Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in Rocket Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $211,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.39% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Rocket Pharmaceuticals

Here are the key news stories impacting Rocket Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rocket secured access to up to $150 million through a Hercules Capital credit facility. The capital strengthens its balance sheet and is intended to support the pivotal Phase 2 trial of RP-A501 for Danon disease and the broader cardiovascular pipeline. Rocket Pharmaceuticals secures access to $150 million credit facility
• Positive Sentiment: The company highlighted an FDA-aligned development plan for the RP-A501 pivotal Phase 2 study and reported sustained biological activity in longer-term Phase 1 follow-up. The update may improve confidence that the program is advancing toward a potentially registrational data set. Rocket Pharmaceuticals RP-A501 clinical update
• Positive Sentiment: Chardan Capital reaffirmed its “buy” rating and set an $11 price target, while Wedbush maintained its “outperform” rating. These endorsements signal that some analysts see substantial upside if Rocket’s clinical programs continue to progress. Rocket Pharmaceuticals analyst ratings
• Neutral Sentiment: Leerink Partners lowered its price target from $7 to $4 and changed its rating to “market perform.” Although the new target still implies considerable upside from the recent trading level, the reduction reflects a more cautious assessment of Rocket’s valuation or execution risk.
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor-call transcripts focused on the RP-A501 pivotal trial and preliminary clinical data, reinforcing that upcoming trial execution and efficacy results remain the primary catalysts for RCKT. Rocket Pharmaceuticals Danon disease program transcript

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc (NASDAQ:RCKT) is a biotechnology company focused on developing gene therapies for rare and devastating diseases. The company uses both ex vivo hematopoietic stem cell gene therapy and in vivo adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene therapy approaches to address conditions with limited or no effective treatment options.

Rocket’s development programs have included marnetegragene autotemcel (RP-L102) for leukocyte adhesion deficiency-I, a rare inherited immune disorder; RP-A501 for Danon disease, a genetic heart condition; RP-A601 for arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy associated with PKP2 mutations; and RP-L301 for pyruvate kinase deficiency, an inherited blood disorder.