Shares of Rocket Lab already have gone to the moon in December. Some analyst have their sights set even higher for the space launch and technology stock.

Needham & Co. reiterated a Buy rating on Rocket Lab shares and lifted its price target to $90 from $63 in a research note Tuesday. While perhaps best known as a challenger to SpaceX in launch services, Rocket Lab also will play a "growing role in the future of national defense," wrote analyst Ryan Koontz.

The price-target bump was a necessary bit of housekeeping after Rocket Lab's big month. On Sunday, the company completed its 21st space launch of the year. Two days earlier, it won a contract for $816 million -- its largest award ever -- from the U.S. Space Development Agency to make missile-defense satellites.

Rocket Lab stock has soared 83% in December as of the close of trading Tuesday.

The satellite award brings the backlog in Rocket Lab's growing space systems segment to around $1.4 billion from roughly $600 million. It also validates the company's position as a defense "prime," Needham argued, referring to contractors that win awards to lead large-scale defense projects.

Other names included in the satellite program, which is part of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture program, or PWSA, include Lockheed Martin, L3Harris Technologies, and Northrop Grumman. Rocket Lab has some advantages over that more-established trio, Needham said.

"We believe RKLB's unique offering as a more nimble competitor with cost-effective economics will allow it to garner increasing share in PWSA awards," wrote analyst Ryan Koontz.

Stifel analyst Erik Rasmussen, who rates Rocket Lab stock a Buy, also raised his price target to $85 from $75 following the award.

Crucially, profits from the space systems segment fuel growth in space launches, where Rocket Lab challenges privately held SpaceX. Rocket Lab has proven it can achieve small-lift launches with its Electron Rocket, and its higher-capacity Neutron rocket is on the way.

Needham sees Neutron taking share from the SpaceX Falcon 9, positioning Rocket Lab as "a critical secondary launch option to dominant SpaceX as most launch customers today desperately seek increased industry capacity and pricing leverage."

One thing is for sure: Rocket Lab has plenty of momentum on its side entering 2026.