Rocket Companies Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:RKT)

Rocket Companies, Inc. (NYSE:RKT) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Investors purchased 194,624 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 53% compared to the typical daily volume of 127,005 call options.

Rocket Companies Stock Up 7.3%

Shares of NYSE RKT traded up $1.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $22.80. 47,583,049 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 34,576,820. The company’s fifty day moving average is $18.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 19.68 and a current ratio of 19.68. Rocket Companies has a fifty-two week low of $10.06 and a fifty-two week high of $23.42. The stock has a market cap of $47.97 billion, a PE ratio of 284.97 and a beta of 2.29.

Rocket Companies (NYSE:RKT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.07. Rocket Companies had a positive return on equity of 2.83% and a negative net margin of 1.77%.The company had revenue of $1.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 148.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Rocket Companies will post 0.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on RKT. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Rocket Companies in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Rocket Companies in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Zacks Research raised shares of Rocket Companies from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Barclays set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Rocket Companies and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Rocket Companies from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.54.

Insider Transactions at Rocket Companies

In other news, Director Matthew Rizik sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.25, for a total value of $48,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,061,036 shares in the company, valued at $20,424,943. This represents a 0.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 32,500 shares of company stock worth $611,850. 92.64% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rocket Companies

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Rocket Companies by 226.9% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 179,436 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,474,000 after buying an additional 124,549 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital increased its position in Rocket Companies by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 23,303 shares of the company’s stock worth $496,000 after acquiring an additional 1,399 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new position in Rocket Companies during the fourth quarter worth $1,916,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in Rocket Companies by 12,104.9% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 42,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $827,000 after purchasing an additional 42,367 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MFG Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Rocket Companies by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. MFG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 188,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,658,000 after purchasing an additional 40,981 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 4.59% of the company’s stock.

About Rocket Companies

Rocket Companies, Inc is a Detroit-based holding company whose businesses are centered on digital mortgage origination and related consumer finance and real estate services. The company grew out of the Quicken Loans franchise and completed an initial public offering in 2020. Founder Dan Gilbert remains a prominent figure associated with the firm, which operates a suite of brands that aim to simplify the home financing and buying experience through technology and scale.

The company’s core activity is mortgage lending through its Rocket Mortgage platform, which offers online application, underwriting and servicing for home purchase and refinance loans.