By Al Root
Space is ice cold -- but on Wall Street, space stocks are red-hot. Now, investors have another option to play the trend ahead of SpaceX's debut, the ultimate space IPO.
HawkEye 360 priced its IPO at $26 on Wednesday, raising about $416 million and valuing the company at about roughly $2.5 billion. Deal underwriters also have a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 2.4 million shares at the initial public offering price.
The stock, which trades under the symbol HAWK, opened at $31.50 on Thursday, about 21% above its IPO price. Shares then rallied further, closing at $34, up 30.8%. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4% and 0.6%, respectively.
Current prices value the company at about $3.2 billion, including the underwriters' option, which is likely to be exercised.
Founded in 2015, by military veterans and engineers, HawkEye 360 operates in space, but it's also a defense-technology startup that provides signals intelligence for the warfighter. With over 30 satellites in orbit, the company estimates its addressable market is about $24 billion, including sensors, payloads, and algorithms that support data collection and analysis.
CEO John Serafini calls his company one of one. No one else is doing what HawkEye 360 is yet. The company, for instance, can pinpoint the location of a ship that turns off its GPS transponder -- if it uses its navigation radar. HawkEye's technology has been used in Ukraine and has helped identify Iranian GPS-disruption technology.
Sales in 2025 were $118 million, up from $68 million in 2o24. Net income was $2.7 million, and backlog at the end of 2025 was $303 million.
Growth and profitability certainly helped with the IPO process. Rocket Lab's growth and overall interest in commercial space is helped, too. As did Elon Musk, who is planning a midyear IPO for his rocket company that could value the firm at up to $2 trillion.
That valuation is opening eyes to the opportunities in space, which include earth imaging, AI data centers, and broadband communications, as well as a host of defense applications.
HawkEye is focused on government applications, staking out strategic high ground above the clouds.
Currently, U.S. Government entities account for about 60% of sales. Customers in Japan account for closer to 15%.
Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 07, 2026 16:58 ET (20:58 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.