SpaceX Fever Is Spreading Across Space Stocks — Here’s Why New Street Is Bullish On RKLB, SATS And VSAT

• New Street called Rocket Lab the only scaled Western space platform outside of SpaceX.
• The brokerage also called EchoStar a "hidden SpaceX proxy" because it owns a 2.2% stake in SpaceX.
• The firm said Viasat’s massive global MSS spectrum position is not reflected in its share price.

Investor frenzy around SpaceX is beginning to spill into public space stocks, with New Street naming Rocket Lab (RKLB), EchoStar (SATS), and Viasat (VSAT) among the biggest potential winners from the rapidly expanding space economy.

On Wednesday, RKLB jumped 6%, SATS gained 3%, TSAT climbed 1% and PL edged up 0.2%, while VSAT slipped 1%. 

Rocket Lab: Rare Scaled Alternative To SpaceX

In a fresh launch of coverage across space stocks, New Street analysts initiated ‘Buy’ ratings on Rocket Lab, Viasat, and EchoStar, while assigning Sell ratings to Planet Labs (PL) and Telesat (TSAT).

Among the firm’s top calls was Rocket Lab, which New Street called the only Western space platform on a scale with SpaceX. The brokerage said that Rocket Lab’s current valuation implies that the company captures less than 1% of the broader space economy opportunity, despite rapidly expanding across launch services, missile defense, satellite manufacturing, spacecraft systems, and national security infrastructure. New Street said that opportunity remains “largely underpriced.”

The bullish stance comes as Rocket Lab aggressively builds out a vertically integrated space and defense platform spanning reusable rockets, hypersonic testing, defense payloads, spacecraft manufacturing and orbital infrastructure.

During the company’s recent quarterly earnings call, Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck highlighted the company’s exposure to national security and defense programs, including the Pentagon’s MACH-TB hypersonic initiative and Golden Dome-related Space interceptor opportunities.

Rocket Lab also disclosed a record $2.2 billion backlog, while confirming that customer demand for its upcoming reusable Neutron rocket remains strong ahead of the vehicle’s expected first launch later this year. The company also announced a major 20-launch Haste hypersonics contract, alongside a separate Neutron agreement, the largest launch contract in Rocket Lab’s history.

SpaceX IPO Buzz Fuels The Entire Space Trade

Space stocks have been riding SpaceX’s IPO buzz, with the firm targeting a mid-2026 IPO that could value the Elon Musk-led company between $1.75 trillion and $2 trillion, potentially making it one of the largest public listings in market history.

Markets have increasingly focused on SpaceX’s expansion beyond rockets into AI infrastructure, satellite broadband, direct-to-device communications and orbital data-center ambitions. The enthusiasm accelerated further after reports of Google being in talks with SpaceX for a potential rocket-launch deal for orbital AI data centers.

SpaceX has also recently announced agreements involving Anthropic and filed applications to launch up to one million satellites supporting future orbital infrastructure. Investors have additionally focused on the possibility that a future SpaceX IPO could trigger major passive ETF inflows following accelerated index inclusion rule changes across Nasdaq, S&P and FTSE Russell.

EchoStar: Hidden SpaceX Proxy Play

New Street also identified EchoStar as a direct proxy play on SpaceX. The firm pointed to EchoStar’s 2.2% ownership stake in SpaceX after the xAI merger, saying that a future SpaceX IPO at a higher valuation could create “meaningful upside” for SATS shares. The brokerage also highlighted EchoStar’s growing importance in direct-to-device satellite connectivity infrastructure.

Recently, the FCC approved EchoStar’s sale of 65 megahertz of nationwide spectrum to SpaceX for Starlink’s direct-to-device offerings. The FCC said that the deal would boost America’s leadership in satellite-to-smartphone connectivity, while accelerating wireless infrastructure.

Viasat: Underappreciated Spectrum Giant

New Street also turned bullish on Viasat, saying that the company’s ownership of the world’s “largest band of global MSS spectrum” is not being reflected in the current share price. The brokerage believes that Viasat’s spectrum position could become more valuable as satellite broadband, direct-to-device communications and orbit connectivity markets continue expanding globally.

The call comes shortly after Viasat successfully launched its ViaSat-3 Flight 3 satellite aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket last month. The satellite is expected to add more than 1 terabit per second of throughput capacity across the Asia-Pacific region as part of Viasat’s broader multi-orbit connectivity strategy. Viasat said the constellation can support aviation connectivity, maritime broadband, government and defense communications, business internet services and rural broadband expansion globally.

New Street Leans Bearish On PL And TSAT

Meanwhile, New Street assigned ‘Sell’ ratings to Planet Labs and Telesat. For Planet Labs, the brokerage said that the company remains “well positioned with tier-2 countries” but expressed concerns that the valuation already reflects much of that opportunity.

For Telesat, New Street warned that the rapid rise in satellite capacity from both Starlink and Amazon could pressure pricing across the industry and potentially lead the company to miss future revenue expectations.

How Do Retail Traders Feel About Space Stocks?

Investors are broadly optimistic about space stocks on Stocktwits. Retail sentiment for RKLB was ‘extremely bullish’ amid ‘extremely high’ message volume, while VSAT, SATS, PL and TSAT all carried ‘bullish’ sentiment readings. Among them, SATS and PL saw ‘high’ message volume, while VSAT and TSAT recorded ‘normal’ activity.

Space stocks have delivered massive returns over the past year. PL has surged 978%, while VSAT has rallied 578%, SATS has gained 574%, RKLB has climbed 469% and TSAT has advanced 213%. 

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

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