Live Markets-Space: today's winners launch rockets, tomorrow's sell data
RKLB•Berenberg starts coverage of Rocket Lab and peers
Berenberg initiated coverage of Rocket Lab, AST SpaceMobile, Planet Labs and HawkEye 360 with "buy" ratings, while starting Italy's Avio with a "hold".
Launch capacity remains tight as demand outpaces supply
That has created near-term opportunities for launch providers, it says, while over the longer term value is likely to shift downstream to providers of applications such as connectivity, data and Earth observation.
For now, however, the bank believes the biggest gains may still lie with companies controlling access to space.
"Until new vehicles such as Neutron, New Glenn, Eclipse, Nova and Terran R demonstrate repeatable cadence, pricing power accrues to a small group of proven high-cadence vehicles," analyst Michael Filatov writes.
Launch capacity remains tight as demand outpaces supply. SpaceX dominates the market, having carried about 80% of all mass sent into orbit this year, compared with 6% for the next-largest provider.
Space launch costs create opportunity across the sector
The sharp drop in the cost of getting cargo into orbit is opening up a growing investment opportunity across the space sector, according to Berenberg, which on Wednesday launched coverage of several U.S. and European space companies.
The broker estimates the global space economy will surpass $1 trillion by 2030 from more than $500 billion in 2025, helped by technological advances and rising defence spending.
Key to the story is a dramatic reduction in launch costs. Berenberg says rocket reusability has cut the cost of reaching orbit to below $1,000 per kilogram on SpaceX's Falcon 9 from roughly $54,000 during the Space Shuttle era.
