Rocket Lab shares have jumped 14% this week as the aerospace company inks new launch deals in the burgeoning space tech industry.
The stock was flat on Friday, but shares are up nearly 40% over the last two weeks and traded near fresh highs on Friday.
Shares have surged more than 150% this year.
On Friday, the company said it secured two launches with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, scheduled for December and in 2026.
Earlier in the week, Rocket Lab announced a multi-launch agreement with Japanese space start Q-shu Pioneers of Space. That’s on top of four contracted missions.
Late last month, the company also secured 10 additional launch missions for Synspective, bringing its total with the Japanese satellite company to 21. The first is scheduled for later this month.
Rocket Lab’s extreme stock movement could also be a result of some short covering, which occurs when short sellers buy a security to close a position and mitigate losses. Short interest accounted for nearly 14% of Rocket Lab’s float at the end of September.
Investors have poured more money into the space sector this year as the government greenlights more contracts and funding.
The space sector, currently dominated by billionaire-backed ventures like Elon Musk‘s SpaceX, has also seen a wave of initial public offerings this year from the likes of Firefly Aerospace, Voyager Technologies and Karman Holdings.
