Franklin Resources Inc. Trims Stake in Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RCKT)

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RCKT) by 62.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 653,559 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 1,076,785 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Rocket Pharmaceuticals were worth $8,215,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Rocket Pharmaceuticals by 319.8% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,916 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 3,745 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. grew 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 worth $68,000 after buying an additional 1,840 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew 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 worth $69,000 after buying an additional 3,366 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Rocket Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $139,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Rocket Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $141,000. 98.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Rocket Pharmaceuticals from $29.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Wedbush assumed coverage on Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Rocket Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $29.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 12.7 %

NASDAQ RCKT opened at $5.40 on Thursday. Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $4.55 and a 1-year 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $8.61 and a 200-day moving average of $12.27. The firm has a market cap of $575.80 million, a PE ratio of -1.96 and a beta of 1.00.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 3rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.62) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.68) by $0.06. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -2.83 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rocket Pharmaceuticals

In other Rocket Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Aaron Ondrey sold 7,489 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.29, for a total transaction of $39,616.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 129,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $685,848.50. This represents a 5.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 28.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Rocket Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.