Rocket Companies Inc (RKT Stock) RKT price target of $30 and downgraded by RBC

Update: RKT shares understandably gave up some ground on Wednesday, as Tuesday had seen stellar gains. RBC downgraded RKT from outperform to sector perform and put a $30 price target on the stock. At the time of writing RKT shares are trading at $37.45 a loss of ten percent. Mortgage data from the US had also seen refinancing deals slow as interest rates rose.

Another day, another short squeeze, retail-induced rally. This must lead to the obvious conclusion that Gamestop rides again! But is that really the case? Maybe not entirely, blow out Q4 results were certainly deserving of a higher rating, but this was another epic move akin to Gamestop.

So for those that don't know what is Rocket? Rocket is a Detroit based company with its stated aim being to help "our clients achieve the dream of homeownership and financial freedom". Rocket has a number of businesses but its main flagship is Rocket Mortgage founded in 1985. The company says on its own website it has $1 trillion originated in home loans and is the US's biggest mortgage lender. Rocket Mortage uses an innovative online platform for mortgage provision and customer interaction. Rocket also has a number of other business in complementary areas such as insurance property valuations, sales, etc. Rocket is the parent company of Quicken Loans.

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Rocket (RKT) shares launched via IPO in August 2020 at $18 and demand was not as strong as now. Rocket had to reduce the size of its IPO by nearly a third due to lack of demand, according to Reuters.

RKT Stock forecast

The sharp appreciation has its origins with Rocket's Q4 results which were strong. Q4 Earnings per share was $1.14 versus $0.87 expected. Sales were $4.7 billion versus $3.9 billion expected. For Q1 2021 Rocket said it expects a closed loan volume of $100.5 billion which is up 95% from a year earlier!

The results were so good Rocket announced a special dividend of $1.11 per share. Total revenue grew 144% in Q4 year on year. 

Post results Jeffries raised its price target for Rocket to $30, Susquehanna raised its price target to $21 but Citigroup lowered its price target to $33.

RKT Stock News

Results were released on Feb 25 after market close. Rocket shares had closed that day at $19.90. On Friday, February 26 RKT shares closed up nearly 10% and on Monday, March 1 RKT shares gained another 11%. 

What happened next then looked more like the Gamestop of old. RKT has a high short interest of 30% plus. 

Retail traders began heavily discussing Rocket stock on social media, post results, and the genesis of another epic short squeeze was planted. Yesterday that led to gains of over 70% for RKT shares, closing at $41.60. It was the highest volume day ever in RKT shares. 

So can it continue? Well if the Gamestop experience is anything to go by this could play out further. Gamestop initially spiked leading to new shorts entering the market but the stock kept going and going for another few days after its initial spike. Can RKT shares do the same? Well, that is the big question. Rocket (RKT) CEO Jay Farner is due to speak at Morgan Stanley's Technology, Media, and Telecom conference on Wednesday morning.

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