By Doug Busch

As investors await an initial public offering from SpaceX, interest is building for space stocks. A wave of publicly-traded pure play space companies have recently hit the market. Names such as Rocket Lab, AST SpaceMobile, Planet Labs, and BlackSky have emerged as key investor bets on the growing commercial space economy, spanning satellite communications, launch services and Earth-imaging technology.

Rocket Lab, a space infrastructure player, now trades at all-time highs. The stock has advanced four of the last six weeks, with three of the weeks producing double digit returns. On Friday, it eclipsed the $100 mark for the first time since going public in late 2020. Notice also that it has performed very well on the ratio chart against the ARK Space & Defense Innovation ETF over the past year.

Looking at the daily chart, the stock surged 34% Friday after a well-received earnings reaction, marking its largest daily volume in the past year:

The move pushed shares above a double-bottom with handle pivot at $93.20, with the trigger occurring after the doji candle on April 22. The current base began forming after back-to-back bearish shooting star candles appeared at the very round $100 level on Jan. 16 and Jan. 20. The stock found support at its 200-day simple moving average on Nov. 21 and March 30, repeatedly bouncing off the longer-term secular trendline. The latest base also successfully retested a prior cup-with-handle breakout pivot at $65.28, originally established on Dec. 19 when the stock climbed 18% on roughly double its average daily volume.

Enter on a pullback near $105, with a potential move toward $133 by mid-2026, a 27% gain from current prices. Remain bullish above $90. Rocket Lab was trading around $110 Monday.

AST SpaceMobile has rocketed higher by 126% over the past year, pun intended. But the stock has hit a rough patch in the last three months, falling 26%. The company reports earnings after today's close. Trading 42% off its most recent 52-week high, it may be pricing in a soft announcement.

Looking at the daily chart, the stock has lagged the ARKX ETF on the relative strength ratio chart since late January. Shares are now moving back toward the 200-day simple moving average for the first time since June.

The technical weakness began with the completion of a bearish evening star pattern on Jan. 30, notably following a doji candle the prior session. Additional lower highs formed alongside a bearish shooting star candle on March 6 and a bearish engulfing candle on April 14. The stock also failed to sustain a breakout above the very round $100 level from a cup base that initially began with a bearish shooting star candle on Oct. 16. Momentum weakened further following a bearish RSI divergence, as RSI posted lower highs while price continued making higher highs between last October and late January.

For now, investors may want to wait for the upcoming earnings reaction before establishing a position, while closely monitoring the developing double-bottom trigger at $104.25. AST SpaceMobile was trading around $75 Monday.

As Wall Street counts down to what could become the largest space IPO in history, investors are increasingly looking beyond private giants like SpaceX and Blue Origin toward publicly traded space companies that could benefit from renewed momentum across the sector.

Doug Busch is the senior technical analyst at Barron's Investor Circle . His technical view is added to stock picks, including those published exclusively for Investor Circle readers. A glossary of technical terms is updated regularly with new entries.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 11, 2026 10:22 ET (14:22 GMT)

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