Planet Labs jumps as investors refocus on new defense contracting pathway and a near-term earnings catalyst

Planet Labs PBC (PL) is up 10.0% today. Here is some analysis on what might have caused this price movement.

Analysis: The move looks tied to renewed buying interest following Planet’s recent announcement that it was selected as a prime contractor on a large Missile Defense Agency contract vehicle, which investors often view as opening the door to incremental defense work. The rally may also be getting a boost from positioning ahead of the company’s next scheduled earnings release later this month.

Details:

In a March 3, 2026 company release, Planet said it was selected as a prime contractor under the Missile Defense Agency’s SHIELD IDIQ contract vehicle, which carries a stated program ceiling of up to $151 billion.

An IDIQ award typically establishes a framework to compete for future task orders, but it does not guarantee that any specific revenue amount will be awarded to a single contractor.

Planet has an upcoming earnings event on March 19, 2026 (after market close), which can catalyze short-term price swings as traders adjust exposure and expectations.

In its most recent quarterly update (released Dec. 10, 2025), Planet highlighted accelerating revenue growth and continued emphasis on government/defense demand as a key driver for its business.

Sources:

Business Wire, Planet Labs investor relations, TipRanks

Disclaimer: This price movement analysis was generated with the help of AI. Please double-check the information provided for mistakes.

$PL Insider Trading Activity

$PL insiders have traded $PL stock on the open market 11 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 1 have been purchases and 10 have been sales.

Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $PL stock by insiders over the last 6 months:

WILLIAM SPENCER MARSHALL (Co-Founder and CEO) has made 0 purchases and 2 sales selling 400,000 shares for an estimated $6,971,160.
CARL BASS sold 376,748 shares for an estimated $5,903,264
ASHLEY F. JOHNSON (President & CFO) has made 0 purchases and 2 sales selling 150,731 shares for an estimated $4,071,803.
ROBERT H SCHINGLER (Co-Founder Chief Strategy Off.) has made 0 purchases and 2 sales selling 155,438 shares for an estimated $2,693,369.
KRISTEN ROBINSON sold 47,835 shares for an estimated $1,289,631
VIJAYA GADDE sold 20,000 shares for an estimated $535,350
GARY B SMITH has made 1 purchase buying 20 shares for an estimated $313 and 1 sale selling 20 shares for an estimated $253.

To track insider transactions, check out Quiver Quantitative's insider trading dashboard.

$PL Hedge Fund Activity

We have seen 197 institutional investors add shares of $PL stock to their portfolio, and 161 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.

Here are some of the largest recent moves:

DRIEHAUS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC removed 5,860,847 shares (-40.8%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $115,575,902
VAN ECK ASSOCIATES CORP added 5,851,758 shares (+320.3%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $115,396,667
D. E. SHAW & CO., INC. added 3,470,024 shares (+54.1%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $68,428,873
BARCLAYS PLC removed 2,373,322 shares (-63.7%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $46,801,909
CITADEL ADVISORS LLC removed 2,325,580 shares (-69.0%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $45,860,437
TWO SIGMA INVESTMENTS, LP added 2,134,445 shares (+90.4%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $42,091,255
TWO SIGMA ADVISERS, LP added 1,599,400 shares (+336.9%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $31,540,168

To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard.

$PL Analyst Ratings

Wall Street analysts have issued reports on $PL in the last several months. We have seen 5 firms issue buy ratings on the stock, and 0 firms issue sell ratings.

Here are some recent analyst ratings:

Citigroup issued a "Buy" rating on 01/13/2026
Clear Street issued a "Buy" rating on 12/29/2025
Needham issued a "Buy" rating on 12/11/2025
Deutsche Bank issued a "Buy" rating on 10/21/2025
Cantor Fitzgerald issued a "Overweight" rating on 10/17/2025

To track analyst ratings and price targets for $PL, check out Quiver Quantitative's $PL forecast page.

$PL Price Targets

Multiple analysts have issued price targets for $PL recently. We have seen 9 analysts offer price targets for $PL in the last 6 months, with a median target of $22.0.

Here are some recent targets:

Kristine Liwag from Morgan Stanley set a target price of $26.0 on 01/14/2026
Dan Ives from Wedbush set a target price of $28.0 on 01/13/2026
John Godyn from Citigroup set a target price of $30.0 on 01/13/2026
Gregory Pendy from Clear Street set a target price of $22.0 on 12/29/2025
Ryan Koontz from Needham set a target price of $22.0 on 12/11/2025
Edison Yu from Deutsche Bank set a target price of $17.0 on 12/11/2025
Colin Canfield from Cantor Fitzgerald set a target price of $20.0 on 10/17/2025

This article is not financial advice. See Quiver Quantitative's disclaimers for more information. Note that there may be inaccuracies due to mistakes in ticker-mapping, and other anomalies.