Baird sees shares of Rocket Lab taking off from their current levels. In a Thursday note, the investment firm initiated coverage of the rocket and spacecraft manufacturer at an outperform rating and $83 price target. Shares of Rocket Lab have soared 172% this year. While Baird’s price target implies the stock could gain an additional 20% from here, over the long run the firm believes that shares could one day surge to more than $200 apiece. “SpaceX 2.0 Primed for Liftoff!” wrote Baird analyst Peter Arment. “We see RKLB becoming a $200+ stock longer-term, assuming solid launch cadence growth is combined with reusable rocket technology development.” RKLB YTD mountain RKLB YTD chart Arment cited a growing global space launch market as a tailwind for the stock. Global space launches have grown around 22% at an annual rate from 2020 to 2024, and are expected to continuing increasing at a mid-teens rate, at least, through 2030, he wrote. The analyst also applauded Rocket Lab’s best-in-class performance so far, with its $8.5 million Electron rocket dominating the small-lift launch market. Arment noted that Rocket Lab’s Neutron Rocket is directly competing with incumbent SpaceX for market share. “RKLB’s position as a reliable space launch provider is firmly established through its 94% mission success rate,” he wrote. “RKLB’s $50 million Neutron rocket is targeting first flight in 2H25/early-2026; competing directly with the larger SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in the medium-lift launch market.” Arment added that Rocket Lab’s clean balance sheet provides ammunition if the company chooses to pursue any more mergers or acquisitions. Rocket Lab already has a proven M & A playbook, the analyst said, pointing to the five acquisitions it has completed since 2020 within the space systems segment. “Net cash position as of 2Q25 and availability of ATM facility allows flexibility for bolt-on M & A to expand vertically-integrated spacecraft manufacturing business within Space Systems segment,” he wrote. ( Learn the best 2026 strategies from inside the NYSE with Josh Brown and others at CNBC PRO Live. Tickets and info here . )
