SpaceX has completed its latest national-security launch, orbiting 21 data-transport satellites for the U.S. Space Development Agency after a five-day hold. The mission, flown on Saturday, reinforces the company’s standing as a go-to launch provider for American government programs and slots into a run of operational wins that are steadily widening its space-based footprint.
The launch also lands amid a burst of bullish repositioning on the equity. Barclays kicked off coverage on Friday with an Overweight rating and a twelve-month price target of $254, a vote of confidence in the company’s widening commercial reach. Morgan Stanley had already staked out even more ground: analyst Adam Jonas reaffirmed an Outperform call and a $300 target on October 5, with much of the Street’s attention fixed on the commercial promise of the Starlink constellation.
TD Cowen, for its part, restated its Buy rating and a $200 target on Friday. Shares finished the session at EUR 145.20, up 1.4% on the day — a level that sits roughly 15% above the 50-day moving average of EUR 126.20. Over the past 30 days, the stock has climbed 14%. Reuters reported that the shares had earlier risen as much as 3.7% in premarket trading as investors began pricing in a direct challenge to established U.S. mobile carriers.
Spectrum Deal Sets Up a Run at Wireless
That challenge rests on a growing technological base. SpaceX has secured an agreement to acquire the nationwide 800 MHz spectrum portfolio held by Grain Management, a package spanning up to 14 MHz of paired spectrum earmarked for Starlink Mobile. The deal is subject to approval by the Federal Communications Commission and customary closing conditions, and the parties have not disclosed financial terms — leaving the roughly $8 billion figure reported in the media unconfirmed.
Regulatory groundwork is advancing in parallel. The FCC has granted SpaceX permission to build and operate a constellation of 15,000 non-geostationary satellites designed for direct-to-device connections and mobile satellite services. The authorization comes with strings attached: half of the approved satellites must be in operation by October 7, 2032.
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Funding the Buildout
Sustaining that pace of expansion will not come cheap. Reuters has reported that SpaceX is seeking a financing package of $40 billion to purchase Nvidia chips, a deal that would be led by Apollo Global Management. Whether those talks ultimately produce an agreement remains unresolved.
On the operational side, SpaceX closed out its crewed Crew-12 mission on Thursday. After more than seven months aboard the International Space Station, the Dragon capsule splashed down in the Pacific as planned with four astronauts on board.
For investors, the coming months hinge on how efficiently SpaceX meets the FCC’s satellite-operating deadlines and what operational headway it makes in extending its reach into mobile communications.
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