Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (RKLB) stock soared 7.50% during intraday trading on Friday, driven by a significant new defense contract and extremely bullish sentiment in the options market.

The surge followed the company's announcement that it was awarded a $397 million contract by the US Space Force to develop, launch, and operate multiple satellites for the Space-Based Airborne Moving Target Indicator program. This marks the second major defense order from the Space Force in recent weeks, following a $266 million multi-launch missile defense contract awarded in late July, reinforcing investor confidence in Rocket Lab's growing role in national security space missions.

Additionally, options market activity reflected strong directional bets on further upside, highlighted by a single $9.075 million far-dated out-of-the-money call option trade and a Call/Put volume ratio surging to 4.21. The positive momentum also builds ahead of the company's Q2 earnings report, with analysts maintaining constructive views on continued revenue growth following a 63.46% year-over-year increase last quarter.