MW These are the space stocks to watch in 2025
By James Rogers
After a big year for SpaceX - and one of misfortune for Boeing - here's what to expect in the new year
Last year was a big one for the space sector, marked by SpaceX's building momentum, Boeing Co.'s Starliner struggles, and a slew of activity from a host of names. So what can we expect in 2025?
Ehud Behar, a physics professor at the Technion Israel Institute of Technology, said he was not surprised by the success of the likes of AST SpaceMobile Inc. The space-based broadband company launched its first five commercial satellites into space last year and also announced launch-services agreements to provide space-based cellular broadband service coverage for key markets such as the U.S., Europe, Japan, and the U.S. government.
The launch campaign from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is scheduled for 2025 and 2026.
AST SpaceMobile's stock ASTS ended 2024 up 249.9% for the year.
"Overall, I am not surprised by how the market is optimistic," Behar told MarketWatch. "I think there's a lot of potential in the space business that has not been realized yet."
Related: This space stock is up more than 400% this year as second moon mission looms
Andrew Chanin, CEO of Procure AM, issuer of the Procure Space ETF UFO, highlighted the performance of Rocket Lab USA Inc. $(RKLB)$ and Intuitive Machines Inc. (LUNR).
"Now you're starting to see the names that successfully navigated those early de-SPAC years," he told MarketWatch. "Some of them are starting to show some pretty incredible progress."
Space-launch company Rocket Lab went public in 2021 through a merger with the special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, Vector Acquisition Corp. The Long Beach, Calif.-based company recently hit a milestone when it completed successful launches in two different hemispheres in less than 24 hours.
Rocket Lab has highlighted strong demand for its Electron rocket and is planning the first test launch of its new Neutron rocket in 2025, which will be followed by three launches in 2026.
The company's stock rose 360.6% in 2024.
Related: Buy this space stock as it is a 'pillar of long-term lunar infrastructure'
Intuitive Machines Inc. went public in 2023 through a merger with another SPAC: Inflection Point Acquisition. 2024 was a banner year. In February the Houston-based space-exploration company's Odysseus lander became the first commercial lander to successfully alight on the moon's surface. Intuitive Machines plans to send its second mission, IM-2, to the lunar surface in early 2025.
The company is clinching major deals. Last week it announced that it has won additional contracts from NASA's Near Space Network. In a statement, Intuitive Machines Chief Executive Steve Altemus said that the awarded contracts position his company to capitalize on the $4.82 billion maximum potential value of the NSN agreement.
In September Intuitive Machines shares soared after the company announced that NASA had awarded it the NSN contract for communication and navigation services for missions in near space, which extends from Earth's surface to beyond the moon. In late August, Intuitive Machines was also awarded a $116.9 million NASA contract to deliver six science and technology payloads to the moon's south pole. Set against this backdrop, the company's stock rose 610.8% in 2024.
Intuitive Machines is the top holding of the Procure Space ETF, followed by Rocket Lab, Earth-imaging company Planet Labs PBC $(PL)$, satellite-services company Globalstar Inc. $(GSAT)$ and space-mission partner MDA Space Ltd. (CA:MDA).
Related: Rocket Lab's stock climbs after company completes two launches in less than 24 hours
The small-cap manufacturer and supplier of space equipment Redwire Corp. $(RDW.UK)$ has also been grabbing attention recently. The company is poised to benefit from a healthy flow of new business, according to a recent note from research firm Alliance Global Partners, which raised its price target to $16 from $10. The company's shares ended 2024 up 477.5% for the year.
Alliance Global Partners also highlighted Intuitive Machines, as well as space-based intelligence company BlackSky Technology Inc. (BKSY) and nanosatellite specialist Spire Global Inc. (SPIR). Headquartered in Vienna, Va., Spire Global "has one of the largest satellite constellations that are used to collect data and then provide analytics for weather and aviation predictions," wrote Alliance Global Partners analyst Brian Kinstlinger.
"The company did turn profitable in 2024 (pending a restatement) and a recent sale of its maritime business has resulted in an expected pristine balance sheet," he added.
Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. $(SPCE)$ completed the final commercial flight of its Unity spacecraft in 2024 and is set to spend 2025 focused on its new Delta-class spaceships, which are on track for commercial service in 2026.
In a recent note KeyBanc Capital Markets maintained its sector-weight rating for Virgin Galactic. "We believe [Virgin Galactic's] long-term targets are highly attractive, and it is now building the foundation to achieve strong future profitability," KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Michael Leshock wrote in the note.
Related: AST SpaceMobile stock slides after Q3 loss widens
Boeing Co. $(BA)$ had a less-than-stellar 2024. In September the company's Starliner capsule returned uncrewed from the International Space Station after a mission dogged by thruster issues and helium leaks. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who were transported to the ISS aboard Starliner in June, will now return to Earth with SpaceX's Crew-9 mission in spring 2025.
The Starliner saga thrust the relationship between NASA and Boeing under a bright spotlight. When NASA first discussed the possibility of Williams and Wilmore hitching a ride with SpaceX, for example, Boeing issued a statement that Starliner could still bring the astronauts safely home.
Technion professor Behar is keen to see Boeing put the Starliner snafu behind it. "I am looking to Boeing picking themselves up in 2025," he told MarketWatch. "They are not in a good situation - I just hope that they don't give up and stay in the game."
Related: Space stock Redwire soared this year and is set for more 'investor enthusiasm': analyst
Behar noted that Starliner had returned safely to Earth, albeit without Wilmore and Williams. "We want more than one company to take astronauts to the Space Station," he said.
Rival SpaceX, in contrast, is going from strength to strength. "I am amazed by their progress," Behar told MarketWatch.
SpaceX made more than 130 launches in 2024, including four Starship flight tests. In October, for the first time, SpaceX used mechanical arms, dubbed "chopsticks," on the launch tower to capture the Starship rocket booster.
The following month, President-elect Donald Trump joined his newfound ally, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, to watch the sixth flight test.
"Starship has a lot of potential," Behar told MarketWatch. "We haven't had a heavy carrier since the Space Shuttle was decommissioned."
Related: What's next for Boeing after the Starliner snafu?
"This whole concept of using a heavy lifter into space is interesting," he added. "What I find intriguing is to have maybe what the shuttle and ISS were supposed to be - a hub for managing and maintaining spacecraft. You could have an orbiting Starship."
NASA plans to use Starship for its Artemis III mission to land humans on the lunar surface in 2027. Musk, who is himself no stranger to bold announcements, set another ambitious target for Starship in September. "SpaceX plans to launch about five uncrewed Starships to Mars in two years," Musk wrote on the social-media platform X, formerly Twitter, which he has owned since 2022. "If those all land safely, then crewed missions are possible in four years. If we encounter challenges, then the crewed missions will be postponed another two years."
Musk appears to have the ear of Trump, and vice-versa. With the Republican former president set to return to the White House on Jan. 20, the sharing of potential policy and idea generation could follow, Procure AM's Chanin noted. "I think that a lot of people look at EVs as being a Musk/Trump trade," he said, adding that space needs to be considered in the same way.
Related: This space stock registered its longest winning streak in five months
"Now is a really interesting time to consider the role that space plays in the broader global economy," Chanin said, pointing, in particular, to the "cislunar economy," which refers to the area between Earth and the moon or the moon's orbit.
He also highlighted space-based communications, and future moon missions. "When we get people back to the moon," he said, "we're going to be doing a lot of research on what is available there."
-James Rogers
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 04, 2025 06:33 ET (11:33 GMT)
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