Join the space race: Stocks you may consider for investment

Summary 

• The space stocks have recently started attracting investors due to the commercialisation of space voyages.
• Investing in publicly listed companies in the space sector can help investors join the space race.

Average people may not be able to fly off to space yet, but the space sector stocks could go to the moon. The space industry has been witnessing an influx of investments. The month July particularly turned out to be a very eventful month. On 11 July, Virgin Galactic’s first crewed flight took off to space with its founder Richard Branson on board. Within 10 days, Blue Origin also launched its New Shepard rocket with a crew, including its founder, Jeff Bezos. These high-profile space trips have certainly created a buzz in the space travel industry, thus attracting the investors to look into the publicly listed space stocks.

Investors are taking advantage of the buzz in the short term, but the long-term outlook also appears to be quite favourable, as enterprise-backed space programmes are gaining momentum as compared to the government-driven space programmes.

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Besides, other opportunities are also coming up in the space sector, such as satellite-based Internet, space travel, point-to-point transport, and reusable rockets. After Elon Musk’s SpaceX’s first manned mission to space carried out successfully this year, the space exploration sector has been attracting the interest of investors. Companies like Virgin Galactic have been performing quite well, but there are companies in the space sector that are yet to perform well on this platform, such as Aerojey Rocketdyne. Although SpaceX is a private company, there are various publicly listed companies that are making waves in the stock market. Some of the companies that deserve investors’ attention are:

Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT)

Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin Corporation is a US-based aerospace and security company, which develops satellites, spacecrafts, and advanced technology systems for the US government as well as commercial customers. With a market capitalisation of US $108 billion, the sales from its space segment in 2020 accounted for around US $11.9 billion. The sales included strategic missiles, commercial and government satellites, deep space exploration lines of business, and mission solutions. The Orion Spacecraft, which will be used in NASA’s human spaceflight programs, is also being developed by Lockheed Martin. Besides, launch services are also offered by the company under the United Launch Alliance partnership with Boeing.

Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. (NYSE:SPCE)

Headquartered in California, Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. is a US-based spaceflight company, which is engaged in the development of commercial spacecrafts, and aims to provide suborbital spaceflights to space tourists, including private individuals as well as researchers. With a market cap of US $4 billion, the company is still facing an uphill task, and is trying to transform its knowledge and expertise into profits by exploiting the opportunities by the opening of space sector to commercial ventures. Being in the test phases at present and not being able to generate enough revenues, the company still has a lot of potential. After the successful completion of its VSS Unity crewed space flight mission, it has set a landmark for the new commercial space industry, paving way for more commercial flights in future.

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The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA)

Headquartered in Chicago, The Boeing Company is a US-based global corporation, which is leading the global aviation and aerospace sector. It develops and sells airplanes, satellites, missiles, rockets, rotorcraft, and telecommunications equipment across the globe. With a market capitalisation of US $126.991 billion, it offers its products to airlines as well as government customers across 150 countries. Boeing and Lockheed Martin together own the United Launch Alliance, which has been offering space journey services for decades. Recently, the company also made an announcement about getting into partnership with SkyNRG, with the aim of scaling up sustainable aviation fuels across the globe. In addition to this, it will also make investments in SkyNRG Americas’ SAF product project, to increase the production capacity, create awareness, and build a robust value chain along with all the stakeholders, including governments, airlines, as well as environmental organisations

Maxar Technologies Inc. (NYSE:MAXR)

Headquartered in Colorado, Maxar Technologies Inc. is a US-based space technology company, which supports governments and businesses by providing them with global broadband communications technology. The company has capabilities in Earth intelligence and space infrastructure. It manufactures satellites, spacecraft components, and other related products and services. With a market capitalisation of US $2.295 billion, the company, the company can take advantage of space travel stocks in the long run. The company is growing and working hard on the operational front at presently. Recently, the company announced that its preliminary design review for the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) for NASA went successfully, confirming that the 2024 launch is on the schedule.

Astra Space Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTR)

Headquartered in California, Astra Space Inc. is a US-based company, which provides satellite launching services.  With a market capitalisation of US $2.354 billion, it is the fastest privately-funded company in history to reach space at the lowest cost. At present, 50 launches are held by the company under contract in its portfolio, and it plans to deliver more customer payloads in the orbit, and gradually increase these deliveries aiming at daily launches by 2025.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM)

Headquartered in Virginia, Iridium Communications is a US-based company which operates the Iridium satellite constellation, which is a group of 66 LEO (Low Earth Orbit) satellites that are cross linked. These satellites provide voice and data connectivity across the globe. With a market capitalisation of US $5.563 billion, the company has over 450 value-added partners, and it aims to become a trusted partner of humanitarians, mariners, first responders, pilots, and governments, by providing them with communication solutions, ranging from broadband to satellite phones.