TLDR
- Planet Labs stock jumped 10.78% after its German subsidiary won a two-year ESA-backed contract to supply satellite imagery to Greece
- The contract is worth a seven-figure sum and boosts the company’s near-term revenue outlook
- Heavy call buying and rising implied volatility in the options market signaled growing investor optimism
- BHK Investment Advisors opened a new $1.38 million position in PL, one of several institutions adding exposure
- The stock was trading at $39.10, above the Wall Street consensus price target of $29.94
Planet Labs PBC (PL) stock climbed 10.78% after its German subsidiary secured a two-year contract backed by the European Space Agency to provide satellite imagery and related services to Greece. The deal is worth a seven-figure sum.
The contract win gave investors a concrete revenue catalyst. PL was trading at $39.10, well above its 200-day moving average of $23.16, and carrying a market cap of around $13.5 billion.
On the options side, there was heavy call buying alongside a jump in implied volatility. That kind of activity usually points to traders positioning for more upside in the near term.
Institutional Buying Picks Up
BHK Investment Advisors LLC opened a new position in the fourth quarter, purchasing 70,000 shares valued at approximately $1.38 million. The stake represents about 0.5% of BHK’s portfolio and ranks as its 28th largest holding.
Other institutions were also active. MCF Advisors, Baillie Gifford, Larson Financial Group, GAMMA Investing, and North Star Investment Management all either initiated or added to positions in recent quarters. In total, 41.71% of PL stock is held by institutions.
That level of institutional interest is worth watching given PL’s volatility — the stock carries a beta of 1.91.
Analyst Targets Lag the Price
Wall Street has been lifting price targets on PL, but the stock has run past most of them. The consensus rating is “Hold” with an average target of $29.94 — roughly $9 below where it was trading.
Cantor Fitzgerald was the most bullish, raising its target from $20 to $40 and rating the stock “overweight” in March. Citigroup bumped its target to $35 with a “buy” rating in April. Morgan Stanley moved to $35 with an “equal weight” call, while Goldman Sachs raised to $20 with a “neutral” view.
Of eleven analysts tracked, six have a Buy, four a Hold, and one a Sell.
The stock has gained 78.70% year-to-date and touched a 12-month high of $41.71. Its 12-month low was $3.47.
On the insider side, CFO Ashley F. Johnson sold 200,000 shares on April 2nd at $35.10 each, totalling $7.02 million. That sale reduced her position by 9.55%. Insider Robert Schingler also sold 73,683 shares at $35.07 on April 6th under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan, trimming his stake by 22.32%.
Company insiders still own 17.53% of the stock overall.
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