Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB) rose 5.6% in early trading on Monday after Morgan Stanley issued positive comments on the space launch company and matched the highest price target on the Street.
Analyst Kristine Liwag noted that after a strong 2025 rally, investors have been increasingly asking how to contextualize valuation. “Elevated interest in space and a scarcity of high-performing pure plays in public markets have together, in our view, helped support RKLB’s valuation. RKLB today is the market’s clear small-launch leader with a new medium-class launcher nearing entry into service at a time when supply of launch capacity is constrained,” wrote Liwag. She highlighted that the company also has a fast-growing space systems business and is pulling the pieces together for its own constellation.
The Morgan Stanley view is that as Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) continues to deliver on its end-to-end space strategy, the stock could be seen as a potential alternative to SpaceX (SPACE) in the making since the company is mirroring SpaceX’s (SPACE) footsteps in a number of respects, including scaling up rocket lift capacity, embracing booster reusability, and ultimately moving out on a constellation of its own (ala Starlink (STRLK)).
“Meanwhile, successive Electron launches and a growing manifest reinforce the company’s already-impressive track record. The market, in our view, is now taking valuation cues for RKLB from SpaceX’s implied valuation, which has grown from a reported ~$100bn at the end of 2021 to ~$400bn today,” added Liwag.
Morgan Stanley assigned a price target of $68 to Rocket Lab (RKLB), which implies the stock will cool off in the near term following its 168% year-to-date rally.