Ranger Investment Management L.P. Invests $17.69 Million in Planet Labs PBC $PL

Ranger Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 533,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,689,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Planet Labs PBC by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,358,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $381,750,000 after acquiring an additional 806,818 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 0.3% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 7,820,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,704,000 after purchasing an additional 20,400 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 320.3% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,678,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,429,000 after purchasing an additional 5,851,758 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,702,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,475,000 after purchasing an additional 71,381 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,137,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,599,000 after purchasing an additional 301,757 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Ashley F. Johnson sold 75,035 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.08, for a total transaction of $1,656,772.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,132,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,997,253.76. This represents a 6.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Robert H. Schingler sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.92, for a total value of $648,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 225,171 shares in the company, valued at $5,836,432.32. This trade represents a 9.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 171,122 shares of company stock worth $4,148,906 over the last three months. 16.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on PL shares. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Planet Labs PBC from $40.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Northland Securities set a $50.00 price target on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Planet Labs PBC from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Craig Hallum raised their target price on shares of Planet Labs PBC from $36.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, New Street Research began coverage on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. They set a “sell” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Planet Labs PBC presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.36.

Planet Labs PBC Trading Up 0.1%

PL stock opened at $22.32 on Monday. Planet Labs PBC has a 52-week low of $6.26 and a 52-week high of $51.76. The company has a quick ratio of 2.78, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $7.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -19.58 and a beta of 2.11. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.24.

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $94.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.39 million. Planet Labs PBC had a negative return on equity of 105.29% and a negative net margin of 111.17%.The business’s revenue was up 42.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Planet Labs PBC will post -0.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Planet Labs PBC

Planet Labs PBC is a public benefit corporation that operates one of the largest fleets of Earth-imaging satellites, providing high-frequency, high-resolution imagery and data analytics to a broad range of industries. The company’s multi-spectral satellite constellation captures daily snapshots of the planet, enabling clients to monitor changes in agriculture, forestry, urban development, energy infrastructure and environmental conditions. Planet’s imagery platform is designed to support timely decision-making by transforming raw satellite data into actionable insights for business and government users.

Founded in 2010 by former NASA scientists Will Marshall, Robbie Schingler and Chris Boshuizen, Planet Labs grew from a small startup into a key provider in the satellite imaging sector.