Rocket Lab Tumbles 11% as $75 Billion SpaceX IPO Drains Space Sector Liquidity
15.06.2026 - 01:23:27 | boerse-global.de
Rocket Lab shareholders endured a bruising session on Friday as the long-awaited public debut of SpaceX triggered a massive capital reallocation across the space sector. The stock shed 10.58 percent to close at €88.70, wiping out weeks of gains despite a major milestone looming just days away.
SpaceX began trading on June 12 with a bang, jumping 19.2 percent on its first day and securing a market valuation of roughly $2.1 trillion. The company raised a staggering $75 billion in its initial public offering, and institutional investors responded by pulling money out of smaller space names to redeploy into the newly listed giant. Virgin Galactic cratered 31.8 percent, while Intuitive Machines lost 13.1 percent. Against that backdrop, Rocket Lab’s double-digit decline looked almost tame.
Yet the sell-off masks a fundamentally stronger picture. On June 22, Rocket Lab is set to join the prestigious Nasdaq-100 index, a structural catalyst that forces exchange-traded funds and benchmark-tracking portfolios to buy the stock. Inclusion alongside Astera Labs and CoreWeave signals that the company is no longer viewed as a niche space play but as part of the broader technology ecosystem. The timing creates a tug-of-war: mechanical buying from index rebalancing meets the selling pressure from SpaceX’s capital grab.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Rocket Lab?
Operationally, Rocket Lab has never been in better shape. First-quarter revenue hit a record $200.3 million, a 63.5 percent year-over-year jump. The order backlog swelled to over $2.2 billion, much of it tied to a lucrative U.S. government contract. Management sees second-quarter revenue of $225 million to $240 million. Recent strategic moves—the acquisition of Motiv Space Systems and a $30 million hypersonic-testing deal with Anduril—underscore the company’s expanding footprint in robotics and defense.
Technically, the stock is now 34 percent below its all-time high of €133.80 reached in late May. The relative strength index stands at 43.2, inching toward oversold territory, while the 50-day moving average of €87.42 offers a nearby support level. If Rocket Lab can hold above €80 until the index inclusion next week, the forced buying from ETFs could provide a floor. Still, the ultimate catalyst remains the first flight of the Neutron rocket, targeted for late 2026—a mission that will test whether Rocket Lab can truly challenge SpaceX on its own terms.
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Rocket Lab Stock: New Analysis - 15 June
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