RKLB Stock Rises Overnight: Rocket Lab Is Becoming More Like SpaceX, Morgan Stanley Says — Here’s Why

The firm raised its bull-case target to $293 from $185, implying a 252% upside, citing launch and connectivity opportunities after the Iridium acquisition.

• Morgan Stanley reiterated its ‘Overweight’ rating and $105 price target, implying a 26% upside from current levels.
• The brokerage firm said Rocket Lab is moving toward an SPCX model, though SpaceX still has major scale and cost advantages.
• Rocket Lab’s $8 billion acquisition of Iridium adds global communications assets, including L-band spectrum, a satellite network, and more than 500 partners.

Shares of Rocket Lab (RKLB) rose over 2% in overnight trading late Wednesday after Morgan Stanley said that the company’s Iridium acquisition could push it closer to a SpaceX-style vertically integrated space platform.

RKLB stock ended Wednesday’s regular session marginally lower, with shares also down 18% so far this week.

Morgan Stanley Sees 26% RKLB Upside

Morgan Stanley reiterated its ‘Overweight’ rating and $105 price target on Rocket Lab, implying about 26% upside from current levels. The firm also raised its bull-case target to $293 from $185, implying a 252% upside, citing greater launch and connectivity potential after the Iridium deal, Investing.com noted.

Morgan Stanley said it reviewed its valuation approach for Rocket Lab after the SpaceX IPO and Rocket Lab’s acquisition of Iridium Communications. While the firm noted that SPCX still has major scale and cost advantages, it said Rocket Lab’s commercial progress and Iridium deal are moving the company toward a SpaceX model.

The firm also said the acquisition positions Rocket Lab as a “vertically integrated space platform,” expanding its total addressable market by adding connectivity services to its existing launch, spacecraft manufacturing and space systems businesses. Morgan Stanley said it sees a 4.8x positive risk-reward skew for the stock.

Iridium Pushes RKLB Beyond Launch 

Rocket Lab announced last week that it will acquire Iridium in a cash-and-stock deal, valuing the satellite communications company at $8 billion, or $54 per share. The deal will combine Rocket Lab’s launch and satellite manufacturing capabilities with Iridium’s global communications network, L-band spectrum and more than 500 partners.

CEO Peter Beck said Rocket Lab already had launch and spacecraft manufacturing, but “the third leg of the stool was always an application.” By adding Iridium, Beck said Rocket Lab becomes a “self-launching company.”

In Rocket Lab’s investor update, he called the combined business a “fully integrated self-launching space superpower,” saying Iridium brings continuous pole-to-pole coverage across “every ocean, every mountain and every airway.” The Iridium deal would also push Rocket Lab beyond launch and spacecraft manufacturing into recurring satellite services, including Internet of Things connectivity, direct-to-device services, positioning, navigation and timing, and safety-of-life communications. The acquisition is expected to close in mid-2027.

How Do Retail Traders Feel About RKLB?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for RKLB dipped to ‘bearish’ from ‘bullish’ over the past week, amid a 34% rise in message volume.

One user said, “$RKLB Morgan Stanley’s 200 point jump looks good sooner than latter. Are you in or on the side of road thumbing it”

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Another user noted Morgan Stanley’s bull case price target hike and said, “That’s a big signal on how far the long-term setup can stretch if execution keeps improving. Still a high-beta name, but the valuation math is starting to look like the market is pricing in much bigger upside.”

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RKLB stock has surged 115% over the past year. 

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