Space travel company Rocket Lab USA (RKLB) is poised for growth under President-elect Donald Trump’s administration. Trump intends to expand the U.S.’s dedication to space exploration with Jared Isaacman as his nomination to lead NASA. Isaacman is a close associate of Elon Musk, Trump’s head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). That includes taking two trips on SpaceX rockets, making the first commercial spacewalk, and investing in the company.
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Rocket Lab USA founder, chairman, and CEO Peter Beck is optimistic about Isaacman leading NASA. He said, “You have to have a deep understanding of the industry,” and, “Having an astronaut run a space agency is great.”
Rocket Lab USA already collaborates with NASA, and any expansion may increase its work with the government agency. While there are concerns that SpaceX could receive unfair favor, considering Musk’s position in the government, Beck doesn’t believe this will be an issue.
What This Means for Rocket Lab USA
Rocket Lab USA doesn’t have much to worry about based on its latest stock movement. RKLB shares are up 1.58% in pre-market trading after a 3.18% gain on Friday. The stock is also up 346.29% year-to-date and 429.61% since the start of the year.
TD Cowen’s Cai von Rumohr, a five-star analyst on TipRanks, believes the same. He said “RKLB will set its 2025 manifest at 22-25 launches and achieve an est. ~20 launches. But ASP’s next year will rise from 2024’s indicated $7.5MM to near the $8.2MM avg. in backlog; and productivity should improve under new COO Frank Klein, production guru hired from Daimler AG.”
Additionally, a stock update at Rocket Lab USA saw Beck exchange his 50,951,250 shares of RKLB stock for preferred shares. These shares have voting rights comparable to the company’s common stock. This exchange also comes with a new employment agreement for Beck that includes stock benefits and updated compensation.
Is RKLB Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, the analysts’ consensus rating for Rocket Labs USA is Moderate Buy based on seven Buy and five Hold ratings over the last three months. With that comes an average price target of $22.35, a high of $30.00, and a low of $12. This represents a potential 9.44% downside for RKLB shares.
