Skyward Investments: Must-Watch Space Stocks for 2025!

Authored by James Rogers

Following a significant year for SpaceX – alongside a challenging one for Boeing – here is what to anticipate in the upcoming year

The previous year was pivotal for the space industry, characterized by the upward momentum of SpaceX, Boeing Co.’s difficulties with Starliner, and a variety of activities from numerous entities. What should we foresee in 2025?

Ehud Behar, a physics educator at the Technion Israel Institute of Technology, mentioned that he wasn’t taken aback by the achievements of companies like AST SpaceMobile Inc. The broadband company utilizing space launched its initial five commercial satellites into orbit last year and also revealed agreements for launch services to offer space-based cellular broadband service coverage for major markets including the U.S., Europe, Japan, and the U.S. government.

The launch program from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is planned for 2025 and 2026.

AST SpaceMobile’s stock ASTS concluded 2024 with a remarkable 249.9% gain throughout the year.

“In general, I am not shocked by the market’s optimism,” Behar expressed to MarketWatch. “I believe there is considerable promise in the space industry that has yet to be tapped.”

Related: This space stock has surged over 400% this year as a second lunar mission approaches

Andrew Chanin, the Chief Executive Officer of Procure AM, the issuer of the Procure Space ETF UFO, emphasized the achievements of Rocket Lab USA Inc. (RKLB) and Intuitive Machines Inc. (LUNR).

“Now we are beginning to see the companies that successfully navigated those initial de-SPAC phases,” he conveyed to MarketWatch. “Some of them are beginning to demonstrate remarkable advancements.”

The space-launch firm Rocket Lab went public in 2021 through a combination with the special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, Vector Acquisition Corp. The company based in Long Beach, California, recently achieved a milestone by completing successful launches in two different hemispheres within a 24-hour span.

Rocket Lab has underscored the strong demand for its Electron rocket and is gearing up for the first test launch of its new Neutron rocket in 2025, to be succeeded by three launches in 2026.

The firm’s stock rose by 360.6% in 2024.

Related: Invest in this space stock as it represents a ‘cornerstone of enduring lunar infrastructure’

Intuitive Machines Inc. went public in 2023 through a merger with a different SPAC: Inflection Point Acquisition. The year 2024 marked significant achievements. In February, the Odysseus lander from the Houston-based space-exploration firm became the first commercial lander to successfully touch down on the moon’s surface. Intuitive Machines is set to launch its second mission, IM-2, to the lunar surface in early 2025.

The company is securing substantial contracts. Just last week, it revealed that it has obtained additional agreements from NASA’s Near Space Network. In a statement, Intuitive Machines’ CEO Steve Altemus mentioned that the awarded contracts position his company to take advantage of the $4.82 billion maximum potential value of the NSN deal.

In September, shares of Intuitive Machines surged after the firm announced that NASA had awarded it the NSN contract for communication and navigation services for missions in near space, which spans from the Earth’s surface to beyond the moon. In late August, Intuitive Machines was also granted a $116.9 million NASA contract to deliver six science and technology payloads to the moon’s south pole. Amidst this backdrop, the company’s stock rose 610.8% in 2024.

Intuitive Machines stands as the top holding of the Procure Space ETF, followed by Rocket Lab, Earth-imaging company Planet Labs PBC (PL), satellite-services enterprise Globalstar Inc. (GSAT) and space-mission collaborator MDA Space Ltd. (CA:MDA).

Related: Rocket Lab’s stock gains momentum after successfully completing two launches in under 24 hours

The small-cap producer and supplier of space equipment Redwire Corp. (RDW) has also been attracting notice lately. The firm is well-positioned to gain from a robust influx of new business, according to a recent report from research firm Alliance Global Partners, which increased its price target to $16 from $10. The company’s shares concluded 2024 with an increase of 477.5% for the year.

Alliance Global Partners further highlighted Intuitive Machines, as well as the space-based intelligence firm BlackSky Technology Inc. (BKSY) and nanosatellite expertise provider Spire Global Inc. (SPIR). Based in Vienna, Va., Spire Global “operates one of the largest satellite constellations employed to gather data and subsequently provide analytics for weather and aviation forecasts,” wrote Brian Kinstlinger, an analyst at Alliance Global Partners.

“The company achieved profitability in 2024 (pending a restatement) and a recent divestiture of its maritime division has resulted in an anticipated pristine balance sheet,” he added.

Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. (SPCE) completed the ultimate commercial flight of its Unity spacecraft in 2024 and is set to dedicate 2025 to its new Delta-class spaceships, which are projected for commercial service in 2026.

In a recent communication, KeyBanc Capital Markets upheld its sector-weight rating for Virgin Galactic. “We believe [Virgin Galactic’s] long-term objectives are very appealing, and it is currently laying the groundwork to achieve robust future profitability,” noted KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Michael Leshock in the communication.

Related: AST SpaceMobile stock drops following Q3 loss expansion

Boeing Co. (BA) experienced a frustrating 2024. In September, the Starliner capsule from the company returned uncrewed from the International Space Station after a mission plagued by thruster complications 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 via SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission in spring 2025.

The saga of Starliner has brought the partnership between NASA and Boeing into sharper focus. When NASA initially broached the prospect of Williams and…

Wilmore getting a lift with SpaceX, for instance, Boeing released a declaration that Starliner could still deliver the astronauts home safely.

Technion academic Behar is eager to observe Boeing move past the Starliner issue. “I am anticipating Boeing picking themselves up in 2025,” he informed MarketWatch. “They are currently not in an advantageous position – I simply hope they do not relinquish their efforts and remain competitive.”

Related: Space stock Redwire surged this year and is poised for additional ‘investor excitement’: analyst

Behar pointed out that Starliner successfully returned to Earth, though without Wilmore and Williams. “We desire more than a single company to transport astronauts to the Space Station,” he expressed.

Competitor SpaceX, on the other hand, is thriving. “I am astonished by their advancement,” Behar told MarketWatch.

SpaceX executed over 130 launches in 2024, including four Starship flight trials. In October, for the first instance, SpaceX employed mechanical arms, referred to as “chopsticks,” on the launch platform to seize the Starship rocket booster.

The subsequent month, President-elect Donald Trump partnered with his new ally, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, to observe the sixth flight trial.

“Starship holds immense potential,” Behar mentioned to MarketWatch. “We haven’t had a heavy carrier since the Space Shuttle was retired.”

Related: What’s ahead for Boeing following the Starliner issue?

“This entire notion of utilizing a heavy lifter for space travel is fascinating,” he added. “What I find captivating is to have perhaps what the shuttle and ISS were intended to be – a hub for overseeing and maintaining spacecraft. One could have an orbiting Starship.”

NASA intends to employ Starship for its Artemis III mission aimed at landing humans on the lunar surface by 2027. Musk, who is no stranger to bold declarations, established another ambitious goal for Starship in September. “SpaceX aims to launch approximately five uncrewed Starships to Mars within two years,” Musk announced on the social media platform X, previously known as Twitter, which he has been the owner of since 2022. “If all those land successfully, then crewed missions are feasible within four years. If we face obstacles, then the crewed missions will be deferred another two years.”

Musk seems to have the attention of Trump, and vice-versa. With the former Republican president poised to return to the White House on January 20, the exchange of potential policies and idea generation could ensue, noted Procure AM’s Chanin. “I believe many view electric vehicles as a Musk/Trump arrangement,” he stated, adding that space must be contemplated similarly.

Related: This space stock achieved its longest winning streak in five months

“Now is an exceptionally intriguing moment to contemplate the significance of space within the larger global economy,” Chanin remarked, particularly referencing the “cislunar economy,” which pertains to the area between Earth and the moon or the moon’s orbit.

He also emphasized the importance of space-based communications and future lunar missions. “As we bring people back to the moon,” he stated, “we will conduct extensive research on what is available there.”

-James Rogers

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  01-04-25 0633ET
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