Is Planet Labs Stock a Buy or Sell After Its Co-Founder Sold Shares Worth $1.4 Million?
Key Points
Co-founder Robert Schingler sold 73,782 directly-held shares in the open market for a transaction value of approximately ~$1.4 million on Dec. 26, 2025.
The sale represented 5.96% of Mr. Schingler's direct holdings at the time.
All shares disposed in this transaction were from direct ownership. An additional 330,171 shares were transferred to Ulysses Trust 02021.1.
This was Mr. Schingler's second open-market sale in the past year, aligning in scale with his recent transaction cadence as holdings have declined by 36.78% since September 2024.
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On Dec. 26, 2025, Robert H. Schingler, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL), executed an open-market sale of 73,782 shares for a total consideration of approximately $1.43 million, as detailed in the SEC Form 4 filing.
Transaction summary
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Shares sold (direct) | 73,782 |
| Transaction value | ~$1.4 million |
| Post-transaction shares (direct) | 834,558 |
| Post-transaction shares (indirect) | 330,171 |
| Post-transaction value (direct ownership) | ~$16.2 million |
Transaction and post-transaction values based on SEC Form 4 weighted average purchase price of $19.35 on Dec. 26, 2025.
Key questions
- How significant was this transaction relative to Mr. Schingler's overall stake?
The sale accounted for approximately 6.0% of his direct holdings, reducing his direct stake to 834,558 shares, after selling 73,782 shares and transferring 330,171 shares to a trust. - Was this transaction consistent with Mr. Schingler's recent trading behavior?
Yes, this was his second open-market sale in the last year, closely matching the prior sell size (81,656 shares in October 2025) and median sell-only transaction scale of 77,719 shares. - What is the current value of Mr. Schingler's remaining direct and indirect holdings?
Based on the transaction price, his direct holdings were worth approximately $16.2 million post-sale, while indirect holdings via Ulysses Trust 02021.1 stood at 330,171 shares. - Did this trade reflect a shift in strategy or was it capacity-driven?
The transaction's size aligns with Mr. Schingler's recent pattern and reflects the diminished available share base, as his direct holdings have decreased by nearly 37% since September 2024.
Company overview
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Price (as of market close 12/26/25) | $19.35 |
| Market capitalization | $6.17 billion |
| Revenue (TTM) | $282.46 million |
| 1-year price change | 414.11% |
Note: 1-year price performance is calculated using Dec. 26, 2025 as the reference date.
Company snapshot
- Planet Labs designs, manufactures, and operates satellite constellations to deliver high-frequency geospatial data and imagery products.
- It generates revenue through subscription-based access to its proprietary satellite data platform, offering cloud-native analytics and data fusion capabilities.
- The company serves customers in agriculture, mapping, forestry, finance, insurance, and government sectors globally.
Planet Labs PBC operates one of the world’s largest commercial fleets of Earth observation satellites, enabling rapid and consistent delivery of geospatial data.
The company’s platform-centric approach supports scalable analytics and time-series monitoring for enterprise and government clients. Its competitive advantage lies in high revisit rates and proprietary data processing technology, positioning it as a key player in the geospatial intelligence market.
What this transaction means for investors
Planet Labs Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer Robert Schingler's sale of company stock is not a cause for alarm. The disposition was part of a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
The sale comes at a timely moment for Mr. Schingler, since Planet Labs shares skyrocketed to a 52-week high of $20.99 on Dec. 23. This is a dramatic turnaround from the low of $2.79 reached last April.
The company's stock is up thanks to a new government contracts that helped to propel revenue to a record $81.3 million in its fiscal third quarter ended Oct. 31. That sum represented a strong 33% year-over-year increase.
Planet Labs also improved its fiscal Q3 loss from operations to $18.3 million, down from a loss of $22.6 million in the prior year. However, the boost in its share price drove the stock's price-to-sales ratio to nearly 22, which is the highest it's been over the past year.
As a result, now is not the best time to buy, but is a good time for shareholders to sell.
Glossary
Open-market sale: The sale of securities on a public exchange, available to any buyer, at prevailing market prices.
SEC Form 4: A required filing disclosing insider trades of company securities by officers, directors, or significant shareholders.
Direct holdings: Shares owned personally and directly by an individual, not through trusts or other entities.
Indirect holdings: Shares owned through another entity, such as a trust or partnership, rather than held personally.
Ulysses Trust 02021.1: A specific trust entity holding shares on behalf of an individual or group, often for estate or tax purposes.
Weighted average purchase price: The average price paid per share, accounting for different prices across multiple transactions.
Transaction cadence: The frequency and pattern of trading activity, such as regular intervals or consistent volumes.
Post-transaction: Refers to the state of holdings or values after a specific trade or transaction has occurred.
Geospatial data: Information that includes geographic location, often used for mapping, analysis, and monitoring physical environments.
Satellite constellation: A group of satellites working together in coordinated orbits to provide continuous coverage or data.
Proprietary data platform: A unique, company-owned system for collecting, processing, and delivering specialized data to clients.
TTM: The 12-month period ending with the most recent quarterly report.
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Robert Izquierdo has positions in Planet Labs PBC. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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