Insider Selling: Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) Director Sells 12,500 Shares of Stock

Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB) Director Merline Saintil sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $1,125,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 280,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,202,610. This trade represents a 4.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Merline Saintil also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, January 13th, Merline Saintil sold 96,000 shares of Rocket Lab stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.58, for a total value of $8,311,680.00.
• On Friday, December 19th, Merline Saintil sold 5,000 shares of Rocket Lab stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $325,000.00.
• On Wednesday, December 17th, Merline Saintil sold 5,000 shares of Rocket Lab stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.46, for a total transaction of $272,300.00.
• On Friday, December 12th, Merline Saintil sold 15,000 shares of Rocket Lab stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $975,000.00.
• On Thursday, December 4th, Merline Saintil sold 10,000 shares of Rocket Lab stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total transaction of $480,000.00.

Rocket Lab Stock Down 1.1%

RKLB stock traded down $1.04 during trading on Thursday, hitting $90.76. 24,655,734 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 28,782,193. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -238.84 and a beta of 2.16. Rocket Lab Corporation has a 1 year low of $14.71 and a 1 year high of $92.46. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 3.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.41.

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The rocket manufacturer reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.02. Rocket Lab had a negative return on equity of 27.26% and a negative net margin of 35.64%.The business had revenue of $155.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $152.45 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.10) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 48.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Rocket Lab Corporation will post -0.38 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Rocket Lab

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rocket Lab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $192,918,000. Cadent Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Rocket Lab in the third quarter valued at approximately $668,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Rocket Lab by 44.7% in the second quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 992,777 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $35,512,000 after buying an additional 306,713 shares in the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rocket Lab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,009,000. Finally, McGuire Investment Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Rocket Lab by 91.3% during the 2nd quarter. McGuire Investment Group LLC now owns 196,107 shares of the rocket manufacturer’s stock valued at $7,015,000 after buying an additional 93,613 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on RKLB shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Rocket Lab from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 3rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Rocket Lab from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Rocket Lab in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $83.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Rocket Lab from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Rocket Lab from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.25.

Key Headlines Impacting Rocket Lab

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

• Positive Sentiment: Large U.S. defense win and backlog boost — an $816M SDA contract and other wins doubled Rocket Lab’s backlog, underpinning bullish views on near-term revenue and helping push the stock to record highs. Rocket Lab (RKLB) Stock: Defense Contract Win Drives Shares to All-Time High
• Positive Sentiment: Street bullish thesis on 2026 revenue and defense-led growth — analysis projects ~\$900M revenue in 2026 as Space Systems backlog converts, sustained 30%+ growth from defense programs, and Electron supporting execution credibility. This underpins upside expectations if execution continues. Rocket Lab Enters A Different League
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and bullish coverage — firms like Cantor Fitzgerald and a Zacks upgrade to “strong-buy” have reinforced the narrative that RKLB is a leading SpaceX alternative with upside tied to Neutron commercialization and defense contracts. Rocket Lab: Premier Alternative To SpaceX in 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary and longer-term cautious views — several feature pieces (Fool, MarketBeat) lay out catalysts (Neutron, launch cadence, defense revenue) but note valuation and execution risks; these provide context rather than immediate catalyst. Is Rocket Lab Stock a Buy After Its Massive Run?
• Neutral Sentiment: Options and institutional flow interest — coverage notes heavy options activity and institutional buying that has amplified the move; these flows can increase volatility but aren’t a fundamental change. Check Out What Whales Are Doing With RKLB
• Negative Sentiment: KeyBanc downgrade to Sector Weight — an influential analyst cut RKLB from Overweight to Sector Weight citing stretched sentiment/valuation, prompting intraday weakness. Analyst downgrades can trigger short-term selling even amid bullish fundamentals. Rocket Lab Stock Gets A Rare Downgrade—Here’s Why
• Negative Sentiment: Insider/director share sale — Rocket Lab director Merline Saintil sold 96,000 shares (~\$8.3M at ~$86.58), reducing her stake by ~24.7%; large insider sales can be perceived negatively even when they’re routine or for diversification/liquidity reasons. Insider Sale: Merline Saintil
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and “Neutron euphoria” concerns — some analysts contend the rally has priced in best-case outcomes for Neutron and could leave the stock vulnerable to a meaningful pullback if milestones slip. Neutron Euphoria Has Pushed RKLB Into Sell Territory

Rocket Lab Company Profile

Rocket Lab is an aerospace company that provides launch services, spacecraft, and space systems for commercial and government customers. The company’s primary launch vehicle is Electron, a small-lift orbital rocket designed to deploy small satellites and rideshare payloads to low Earth orbit. Rocket Lab also develops and manufactures the Rutherford engine, noted for its electric-pump-fed design and additive-manufactured components, which powers Electron and supports the company’s propulsion capabilities.