Latest news with #Neutron
Business Insider
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Rocket Lab assumed with a Neutral at Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs assumed coverage of Rocket Lab (RKLB) with a Neutral rating and $27 price target Rocket Lab has been successful in establishing itself as the 'go-to dedicated launch provider and reliable second option for space launch,' the analyst tells investors in a research note. However, the firm says Rocket Lab is not currently profitable or generating positive cash flow, is in an investment cycle with its Neutron development, and the visibility into the magnitude and path to normalized financials is limited. Don't Miss TipRanks' Half Year Sale Take advantage of TipRanks Premium for 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. Make smarter investment decisions with TipRanks' Smart Investor Picks, delivered to your inbox every week.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Should You Buy Rocket Lab While It's Below $40?
Rocket Lab stock is soaring on optimism over the rocket launch provider. The company is planning to unveil its next-generation rocket called the Neutron later this year. Rocket Lab stock looks overvalued at today's price levels. These 10 stocks could mint the next wave of millionaires › Space and defense stocks have gone to the moon this market cycle (pun intended). Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB) is one of the great beneficiaries of this trend, as the rocket launch, space systems, and defense company has seen its stock soar close to 600% in the last 12 months, absolutely crushing the broad market indices. It recently surpassed a price of $33, hitting a new all-time high in recent weeks. Investors are optimistic about the future of this space flight disrupter as it aims to compete with SpaceX. Should you buy the stock while it is still below $40? Or is it too late to add Rocket Lab to your portfolio? The answer may surprise you. Rocket Lab is the only independent space provider to come anywhere close to competing with SpaceX, the dominant player in the sector. It began its journey developing the small and nimble Electron rocket, which ferries commercial and defense payloads into space with extreme accuracy. Earlier this month, the 65th Electron rocket was launched into space, with many more waiting in Rocket Lab's backlog. The next step for Rocket Lab is the debut of its larger Neutron rocket, which will directly compete with SpaceX in size and capabilities. The Neutron will have a much higher payload capability than the Electron, which means more potential revenue per rocket launch. A Falcon 9 launch at SpaceX can cost over $50 million, which should be a comparable figure for the Neutron once it starts performing for customers. Management believes the Neutron will debut its first launch in 2025, with commercial launches planned in the years after. Rocket Lab's total revenue was only $466 million over the last 12 months, meaning that just a few annual Neutron launches could be quite meaningful to top-line growth. On top of launches, Rocket Lab has built and bought capabilities in the space systems sector, which encompasses items that you put onto payloads in space such as satellites and solar arrays. It just acquired a company called Geost to help further its vertical integration into the defense satellite sector, a highly important capability to have today. In fact, over 70% of Rocket Lab's Q1 revenue came from the space systems segment, making it a much larger market opportunity than just rocket launches. A vertically integrated space company is an ambitious goal, and Rocket Lab is aiming to build it from launch to space gear to eventually software services, according to management. It has a nice narrative, but it is not guaranteed to work. For one, the Neutron rocket has never even performed a test launch. As investors have recently seen with SpaceX and its Starship tests, mishaps in testing can lead to disastrous (and expensive) results. Rocket Lab is currently unprofitable, burning $177 million in annual free cash flow as it builds out the Neutron and other space system segments. With just over $500 million in cash and equivalents, the company is only a few years of cash burn and failed tests of the Neutron rocket from running into a liquidity concern. These are unproven markets, and while Rocket Lab is innovating in a field that could potentially be worth tens of billions of dollars someday, its business plan comes with a lot of risks. After soaring 600% in the last 12 months, Rocket Lab now trades at a market cap of $15 billion. That brings its trailing price-to-sales ratio (P/S) to a sky-high level of 36. For reference, the S&P 500 trades at an average P/S ratio of 3, or about 10% the level of Rocket Lab. Yes, Rocket Lab has a higher growth potential than the average stock, and could easily be generating billions of dollars in revenue in the future. It is not guaranteed to do so, though. Even if Rocket Lab reaches $3 billion in sales -- close to 10x today's level -- it is unclear how much of that would translate to bottom-line profits due to its low gross margins below 30%. If it achieves a bottom-line profit margin of 10%, that would equate to $300 million in annual earnings, or a price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of over 50 compared to its current market cap. And these earnings will not materialize for many years, if they end up doing so at all. However you slice it, Rocket Lab looks like an overvalued stock that has gotten ahead of itself in the last year or so. Avoid buying Rocket Lab for your portfolio. Ever feel like you missed the boat in buying the most successful stocks? Then you'll want to hear this. On rare occasions, our expert team of analysts issues a 'Double Down' stock recommendation for companies that they think are about to pop. If you're worried you've already missed your chance to invest, now is the best time to buy before it's too late. And the numbers speak for themselves: Nvidia: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2009, you'd have $409,114!* Apple: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2008, you'd have $38,173!* Netflix: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2004, you'd have $713,547!* Right now, we're issuing 'Double Down' alerts for three incredible companies, available when you join , and there may not be another chance like this anytime soon.*Stock Advisor returns as of June 23, 2025 Brett Schafer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Rocket Lab. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Should You Buy Rocket Lab While It's Below $40? was originally published by The Motley Fool
Business Insider
4 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
RKLB, IONQ: 2 Soaring Russell 2000 Stocks Still Rated as Strong Buys
Small-cap stocks Rocket Lab (RKLB) and IonQ (IONQ) have both posted explosive gains over the last 12 months, catching the attention of growth-focused investors. Yet despite their big rallies, Wall Street analysts remain bullish, maintaining strong buy ratings on these Russell 2000 stocks. Confident Investing Starts Here: Nonetheless, RKLB and IONQ represent classic high-risk, high-reward opportunities, appealing to investors with a strong appetite for volatility and long-term disruption. While their sharp rallies reflect massive growth potential, both companies operate in emerging, capital-intensive sectors where success is not guaranteed. Let's dive into the details. Is RKLB a Good Stock to Buy? Rocket Lab builds and launches small satellite rockets, including its flagship Electron and upcoming reusable Neutron rocket. Over the last 12 months, RKLB stock soared more than 640%. Most recently, RKLB shares gained almost 12% on Thursday after securing a deal with the European Space Agency to launch two satellites for its LEO-PNT test constellation. Looking ahead, rising global tensions continue to fuel demand for Rocket Lab's defense and surveillance satellite launches, reinforcing the company's long-term potential. Its Electron rocket caters to the growing market for small satellite deployments, while the upcoming Neutron rocket, designed for medium-lift missions, positions Rocket Lab to meet the increasing demand for affordable and dependable space access. Furthermore, analysts remain optimistic. Top-rated analysts at firms like Cantor Fitzgerald and Stifel Nicolaus are bullish on the Neutron rocket, calling its planned launch in the second half of 2025 a critical milestone. They view it as a major step toward Rocket Lab's broader ambition of becoming a fully integrated space company. What Is the Target Price for RKLB? According to TipRanks, RKLB stock has received a Strong Buy consensus rating, with nine Buys and three Holds assigned in the last three months. The average Rocket Lab stock price target is $30.20, suggesting a potential downside of 16.4% from the current level. It's worth noting that despite analysts' bullish ratings, the recent surge in share price has pushed RKLB stock above its average price target, implying a potential downside in the near term. Is IonQ a Good Stock Buy? IonQ is a leading quantum computing company focused on trapped-ion technology, delivering its systems through major cloud platforms. Its stock has surged over 470% in the past year, reflecting its standout position in the space. IonQ is ahead of the curve, having already sold quantum hardware to cloud giants like Amazon's (AMZN) AWS and Alphabet's (GOOGL) Google Cloud. The company's systems offer full qubit connectivity and an industry-best 99.9% two-qubit gate fidelity, which is an essential metric indicating the system's ability to perform calculations with minimal error. With increasing demand and additional system deployments on the horizon, IonQ is well-positioned for further growth. Turning to Wall Street, five-star-rated analyst David Williams of Benchmark Co. recently reiterated his Buy rating on IonQ and earlier this month raised his price target to $50. His bullish stance follows IonQ's announcement to acquire UK-based Oxford Ionics in a $1.075 billion deal. Benchmark analysts believe the acquisition will significantly enhance IonQ's leadership in trapped-ion quantum computing by integrating Oxford's advanced technology, expanding its technical edge and global market reach. What Is IonQ Forecast for 2025? According to TipRanks, four out of five analysts currently covering IONQ stock have issued Buy recommendations. Meanwhile, the average IonQ share price target of $43 suggests a 4.6% upside from current levels.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Rocket Lab vs. BlackSky: Which Space Tech Stock Is the Smarter Player?
As investors increasingly focus on the commercialization of space and national security needs, the demand for space technology stocks like Rocket Lab Corp. RKLB and BlackSky Technology BKSY is rising, further fueled by the growing demand for real-time data and satellite infrastructure. RKLB and BKSY represent two distinct, yet complementary, facets of the space economy. Rocket Lab operates as a launch service provider and space system manufacturer, specializing in small satellite launches through its Electron rocket. In contrast, BlackSky operates in geospatial intelligence, collecting and delivering high-frequency, real-time satellite imagery and analytics to clients, including government agencies and commercial entities. In recent times, heightened investor interest has been observed for these stocks amid rising global defense spending, increased demand for commercial Earth observation data, and the recent momentum in the private space sector post-SpaceX success. Additionally, intensifying geopolitical tensions and climate-related monitoring needs have strengthened the investment case for real-time satellite analytics and launch resilience. Against this backdrop, an investor seeking a profitable space tech stock may find it challenging to choose between RKLB and BKSY solely based on their business models. Let's dig deeper to see which stock emerges as the smarter player in the evolving space tech landscape. Recent Achievements: Among RKLB's more recent achievements, worth mentioning is the successful launch of its 67th Electron rocket for HawkEye 360, a radio frequency geospatial analytics provider, in June 2025. As Electron continues to post record launch volumes, Rocket Lab aims for more than 20 launches this year. This optimistic guidance reflects growing commercial confidence in RKLB's launch services, which, combined with Electron's 100% mission success rate year to date, should inspire more clients to choose RKLB as their preferred launch service provider. This, in turn, should boost Rocket Lab's launch cadence and bolster its future revenue stream. Financial Stability: Rocket Lab ended the first quarter with a cash and cash equivalent of $428 million. Its current debt was $20 million, while its long-term debt totaled $419 million. So, we may safely conclude that the company holds a moderate solvency position, which should enable it to continue investing in innovative space technologies to support the manufacturing of components, sub-systems, and assemblies across the full range of its launch vehicles and spacecraft family. Challenges to Note: A key risk to investing in Rocket Lab lies in its high operating expenses, caused by investments in innovations like the Neutron launch vehicle, Electron's first-stage recovery, advanced spacecraft capabilities and an expanded portfolio of components. These expenses often offset revenue gains, leading to losses, as evident from its recent quarterly reports. Moreover, the space industry is highly capital-intensive and subject to long development cycles, with uncertain timelines for launch vehicle readiness (such as the upcoming Neutron rocket), which might delay revenue streams and dampen investor sentiment for the stock. Recent Achievements: Among BlackSky's most recent achievements, worth mentioning is the $24 million, four-year contract it secured from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to provide AI-powered global monitoring of military and economic sites, earlier this week. Last month, the company signed Gen-3 early access agreements with multiple international defense sector customers for providing real-time, space-based monitoring capabilities. These contracts should duly boost BKSY's top-line performance in the next few years. Moreover, in mid-June, the company revealed its plans to expand its current high-frequency monitoring constellation with multispectral, large-area collection satellites, with their launches expected in 2027. Such innovations, once available in the market, should fetch more revenues for BKSY in the coming years. Financial Stability: BlackSky ended fiscal 2025 with cash and cash equivalents of $77 million. Its current debt, as of March 31, 2025, was $4 million, while its long-term debt was $112 million. So, we may safely conclude that the company holds a solid solvency position in the near term, which should enable it to continue investing in the development of innovative space-based intelligence products. It is currently focusing on expanding its satellite constellation and enhancing its analytics platform, including work on a high-resolution optical satellite in collaboration with Thales Alenia Space for India's defense contractor, Nibe Ltd. Challenges to Note: BlackSky faces intense competition in the crowded satellite imaging sector, where rivals like Planet Labs and Maxar dominate with larger constellations, lower pricing and established government contracts. The rise of AI-driven analytics startups and SpaceX's Starlink-backed imaging ventures further escalates pressure on BKSY to differentiate its real-time intelligence offerings. Moreover, despite achieving strong revenue growth, the company is unable to deliver strong bottom-line performance, which might be a cause of concern for its investors. Evidently, though BKSY's first-quarter 2025 revenues grew 22% year over year, the company registered a loss of $12.8 million. Since investment in space-based technologies is highly capital intensive, BKSY incurs huge operating expenses in the form of high research and development costs as well as professional and engineering services costs, in addition to high interest expenses due to its huge long-term debt load. This trend is unlikely to reverse soon, thereby continuing to put a downward pressure on BKSY's bottom line in the near future. To this end, analysts polled by S&P Global Market Intelligence don't expect BlackSky to earn its first profit before 2028 (as per an article published by The Motley Fool in June 2025). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Rocket Lab's 2025 sales suggests a surge of 32.8% from the year-ago quarter's reported figure, while that for its loss per share also implies a solid improvement. The company's near-term bottom-line estimates reflect mixed movement over the past 60 days. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BlackSky's 2025 sales implies year-over-year growth of 28.5%, while that for its loss also suggests a solid improvement. The stock's annual bottom-line estimates have moved north over the past 60 days. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research RKLB (up 94.1%) has underperformed BKSY (up 158.9%) over the past three months. However, over the past year, RKLB surpassed BKSY. Shares of RKLB and BKSY have surged 652.9% and 139.2%, respectively, in a year. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research BKSY is trading at a forward sales of 4.32X, below RKLB's 22.96X. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research The image below, reflecting a negative Return on Equity (ROE) for both RKLB and BKSY, suggests that neither space company is generating profits from its equity base very efficiently. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research The image below reflects that BKSY is more leveraged than RKLB, considering its high debt-to-capital ratio. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research To conclude, both RKLB and BKSY are positioned to benefit from rising demand in the space tech sector. However, based on recent achievements and key metrics, RKLB stands out as the more financially sound stock compared to BKSY for long-term investors. Despite its premium valuation, RKLB's consistent launch cadence and low leverage should appeal to most investors. In contrast, BKSY's higher leverage and a delayed path to profitability diminish its near-term investment appeal. Therefore, for investors seeking a balanced risk-reward in space tech, RKLB is the preferred choice. However, those who already own BKSY may continue to do so, considering its recent share price outperformance on the bourses and upward movement in its annual earnings estimates, which reflect increased investor and analyst confidence in this stock. Both RKLB and BKSY carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) at present. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Rocket Lab Corporation (RKLB) : Free Stock Analysis Report BlackSky Technology Inc. (BKSY) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Sign in to access your portfolio
Business Insider
6 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
I'm the CEO of Rocket Lab. I get up at 4:30, avoid meetings, and fly a helicopter — here's a typical day in my life.
Peter Beck is the founder and CEO of Rocket Lab, one of SpaceX's biggest rivals. Beck travels to the California headquarters and watches launches, but mainly lives in New Zealand. His daily routine includes an early wake-up, a mandatory sweet at lunch, and very few breaks. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Peter Beck, the founder and CEO of Rocket Lab. It's been edited for length and clarity. I started Rocket Lab in 2006, after skipping out on college. We began in New Zealand as a small advanced technology house and launched our first rocket in 2009. Eventually, I went to Silicon Valley and raised our first bit of capital. That's when we started building Electron, our partially reusable two-stage rocket, and we're now working on Neutron, our medium-lift rocket scheduled to launch this year. The company has gone from generating a few million to hundreds of millions in revenue. It's felt like a sprint pretty much the entire time. Here's a typical day in my life when I'm working from New Zealand, instead of traveling to our California headquarters or watching a rocket launch. I wake up between 4:30 and 5:00 every morning I'm a terrible sleeper, which at least makes it easy for me to get out of bed each morning. When my body naturally wakes up between 4:30 and 5:00 am, I first check to see if anything critical has happened overnight — if something has, I'll head down to my office, because I don't want wake my wife. It's already morning or midday in America when I wake up, so I jump straight into emails even if nothing massive happened in the few hours I was asleep. By 6:00, I'm in the shower; by 7:00, I'm on the road to work. The drive is around 45 minutes, and I usually use it for phone calls. Most days I wear a tee shirt or maybe a quarter zip to work. You're lucky if you ever see me in a suit. I avoid coffee, though not by choice. I love the taste, but it makes me feel terrible, so I settle for catching whiffs of others' drinks. My desk is pretty bare — other than the bits of old rocket I start my day by saying hello to the people around me. There's no pump, no fanfare. We just dive straight into work. Rocket Lab's offices are open-air, but our lawyers recently got annoyed at me for having sensitive conversations in public, so we built a meeting room next to my desk. Now, I nip in there for any confidential calls. With the private meeting space, my desk got even sparser. I used to have a few photos, but now it's just my laptop and bits of rocket from old launches. Some are reminders of success, others reminders that this business can bite you in the ass at any moment. Other than the rocket remnants, I'm a big fan of Post-Its. I have a row of them across the bottom of my computer screen. All the way left are the most urgent problems, and farthest right are things I can deal with later. I like technical questions and avoid all but the most necessary meetings When there are challenges, I enjoy getting into the engineering details. Nowadays, I'm dealing with a lot of technical and production questions about Neutron. These unexpected moments are the most intellectually stimulating parts of each day. I try to avoid meetings whenever I can, but there are a few scheduled ones I have to attend. We have a set of rules in each meeting room, and if you're not adding value, you should leave. If there's a choice to make, I'd much rather pull up a chair at someone's desk than call a lengthy group meeting. I don't take many breaks during the day — I'm at work to get stuff done. Biology calls, though, and when I'm hungry, I'll go down to the cafe for lunch. The cafe didn't serve cake initially, so I mandated that there has to be a sweet at the end of every lunch. Now, there's always a slice of cake to choose from, along with an ice cream machine. Most days, I try to eat with a random group in the cafeteria, though I'll bring my plate to my desk when it's especially busy. I always try to make it home for family dinner I try to leave the office a little bit after 5 to get home in time for dinner with my wife and two teenage kids. I'm not normally involved in the cooking, which is probably for the best. We're all busy people, but there aren't excuses for skipping out on the meal, which is usually the most enjoyable part of my day. We're all jokers, so dinner often consists of us talking about our days or taking digs. After dinner, it's back to work. My time at home is for deeper thinking, whereas my time at the office is for solving practical problems. If I have a big choice to make, I'll collect opinions throughout the day and then eventually sit down with a glass of wine to mull it over. I go to sleep as soon as I start to get ineffective, which is earlier and earlier these days, typically around 10 or 11 p.m. I'm an active relaxer — which can include helicopters or race cars I consider myself an active relaxer, meaning I have to do an activity to destress. My favorite way to active relax is to fly a helicopter. When I'm flying, I have to shut out everything else, or I risk crashing. I try to fly at least one hour each week, usually on a Sunday or a Monday. Occasionally, I'll relax by flying a jet or driving a race car — really anything where there's no possibility of thinking about work.
