markets

Matt Phillips6/26/25

Rocket Lab roars to a record on deal with European Space Agency

Pure-play commercial space company Rocket Lab surged to a record high Thursday after saying it secured a first-ever launch contract with the European Space Agency.

Shares of the company — which has positioned itself as a reliable alternative to Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s SpaceX — have soared more than 600% over the last year.

SpaceX has been a key provider of launch services to the European Space Agency. But there are signs traders are betting Musk’s volatile involvement in politics might be pushing some away from SpaceX services and toward more low-key alternatives, such as Rocket Lab.

Shares of the company, run by New Zealander Peter Beck, are up more than 35% since the remarkable June 5 flame war between Musk and President Donald Trump, in which Musk briefly seemed to threaten to decommission SpaceX’s Dragon space capsule, a key piece of equipment for keeping the International Space Station up and running.

Rocket Lab to Launch Electron Mission for European Space Agency’s Next-Generation Navigation System | Rocket Lab

Shares of the company — which has positioned itself as a reliable alternative to Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s SpaceX — have soared more than 600% over the last year.

SpaceX has been a key provider of launch services to the European Space Agency. But there are signs traders are betting Musk’s volatile involvement in politics might be pushing some away from SpaceX services and toward more low-key alternatives, such as Rocket Lab.

Shares of the company, run by New Zealander Peter Beck, are up more than 35% since the remarkable June 5 flame war between Musk and President Donald Trump, in which Musk briefly seemed to threaten to decommission SpaceX’s Dragon space capsule, a key piece of equipment for keeping the International Space Station up and running.

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markets

J. Edward Moreno7/7/26

SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

US job growth falls far short of estimates in June; unemployment rate unexpectedly dips to 4.2%

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