Point of light exhibiting non-ballistic motion

Watched a point of light at great distance from us (on a rooftop in downtown L.A.), hovering without moving, then turned itself off. A few minutes later, it reappeared in a different location and rose vertically, then turned itself off again. A number of minutes later, it reappeared and descended in a vertical line, then extinguished itself again. There were planes visible at a similar distance during this occurrence, all had multiple formation lights, this was one semi-bright light. Considering its apparent distance from us, it must have been ascending and descending at great speed, then stopped abruptly. Not sure of an aircraft that can exhibit this behavior?