Three Space Stocks to Buy as Launches Multiply

Three space stocks to buy as launches multiply give investors ways to profit from activities that literally are out of sight.

The three space stocks to buy have been recommended by experienced industry followers who are forecasting increased opportunities ahead. As wars drag out in Ukraine, Gaza and elsewhere, demand is rising for companies that support the U.S. military and its allies with weapons and equipment to defend freedom.

The three space stocks to by are benefitting from soaring demand for launch services. All three have tailwinds to motor forward. A key catalyst comes from increased military demand by the U.S. Department of Defense and countries in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

The commercial space recovery is seen as strong enough to cut through economic uncertainty, according to BofA Global Research. Defense spending, in particular, is necessary due to mounting geopolitical security risks, BofA added.

Three Space Stocks to Buy as Launches Multiply: Rocket Lab USA 

U.S. National Defense Strategy suggests that deterrence should be the primary way to protect the homeland and that military modernization should be the main tactic to use, wrote Jason Gursky, an aerospace and defense analyst with Citigroup. The U.S. government thereby is investing in its nuclear defense capabilities, as well as conventional military planes, ships and tanks, he added.

In addition, the U.S. Department of Defense is investing in an initiative called Joint All-Domain Command and Control – whose primary mission is to reduce timelines between “sensors and shooters” to provide further “deterrence and tactical advantage,” Gursky wrote in a recent research note.

“This is being done through the proliferation of sensors across the space, land, air and sea domains and the ability to quickly analyze vast amounts of data using AI,” Gursky continued. “In our view, investments in this initiative support higher defense spending through the end of the decade, and that a rising tide will lift all boats – with most contractors benefiting from it.”

Several companies involved heavily in the space business have received “buy” recommendations from Citigroup. One Is Long Beach, California-based Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB), a global launch services and space systems provider. On June 20, Rocket Lab announced it successfully launched its 50^th Electron mission to deploy satellites for France-based Kinéis, an Internet-of-things (IoT) company. Rocket Lab reported that Electron has reached the milestone of 50 launches faster than any commercially developed rocket in history.

Chart courtesy of www.stockcharts.com

Both Citigroup and BofA Global Research are among the investment firms that recommend Rocket Lab as a buy.

In addition, prime contractors now appear to be willing to buy dedicated launch vehicles to support internal research and development (IRAD) projects – something previously not seen in any great numbers, Gursky wrote in a recent research note.

Three Space Stocks to Buy as Launches Multiply: Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT)

Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), a Bethesda, Maryland-based aerospace and defense company, recently received a 12-month price target of $525 and a buy recommendation from Citigroup. The company is a combination of a 1995 merger between Lockheed Corporation and Martin Marietta Materials, Inc.

In its enlarged form, Lockheed Martin focuses on defense, space, intelligence, homeland security and information technology. The company operates the key business segments such as Aeronautics, Missiles and Fire Control (MFC), Rotary and Mission Systems (RMS) and Space.

Management recently gave guidance that margins are likely to trough in 2024 and head toward 11%-plus over time, driven largely by product mix, Citigroup wrote in a recent research note. The loss-making classified contract at Lockheed Martin’s MFC business will be a tailwind in 2025, i.e., lower forward loss charges, while the rest of the margin accretive MFC portfolio is likely to grow faster than the remainder of the company. Further, new awards across the company better reflect the current cost environment and should produce margins higher than pre-pandemic backlog, according to the research note.

Lockheed Martin recently announced it awarded privately held Firefly Aerospace with a contract for 15 launches, including options for 10 additional ones in the future. Firefly’s Alpha rocket is in a unique position with 1,000 KG of payload capacity, offering much more than Rocket Lab. Industry launch giant SpaceX has much more capacity, leaving a niche for Firefly to meet the needs of big defense contractors like Lockheed Martin for certain missions, Gursky wrote.

Chart courtesy of www.stockcharts.com

Three Space Stocks to Buy as Launches Multiply: Booz Allen Hamilton

Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE: BAH), a McLean, Virginia-based recommendation from the Chicago-based investment firm William Blair, traded up after reporting fourth-quarter revenue and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) above consensus analysts’ estimates during late May. The dividend-paying defense stock’s management issued its fiscal 2025 guidance above consensus on the strength of its pipeline of opportunities and hiring trends offset by potential election and geopolitical disruptions.

Booz Allen’s artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) Databricks partnership for the Advana platform has been a major growth driver, DiPalma wrote in a recent research note. The industry continues to benefit from a strong 2023 defense budget, a favorable hiring environment and wage inflation, he added.

“Headcount trends and strong bookings will likely continue to be the main drivers of revenue growth, and both are in the firm’s favor,” wrote Louie DiPalma, a defense and aerospace analyst with Chicago-based investment firm William Blair. “Over the past few years, Booz Allen has won elite contracts for cybersecurity (Thunderdome, CDM DEFEND, CyPrESS), data analytics (Advana, CDC DMA), artificial intelligence (EMAPS, the JAIC, Space Force remote sensing), and augmented reality (Army digital soldier, soldier as a service). We view the stock as artificial intelligence at a reasonable price (AARP) and see upside of greater than 15% over the next year.”

Chart courtesy of www.stockcharts.com

Booz Allen Hamilton Has Many Supporters

Another fan of Booz Allen Hamilton is Jim Woods, a former Army paratrooper who has recommended the company profitably in the past. Woods has a big defense contractor in the Income Multipliers portfolio of his Successful Investing newsletter but he also likes Booz Allen Hamilton.

Jim Woods leads Successful Investing and co-heads Fast Money Alert.

As a former military man, Woods has a keen interest in defense and cyberspace, following them closely for subscribers of his Successful Investing newsletter and his trading services such as Bullseye Stock Trader, High Velocity Options and Fast Money Alert. The latter service he co-heads with Mark Skousen, PhD, an economist who is a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University, as well as the head of the Forecasts & Strategies investment newsletter.

Ben Franklin scion Mark Skousen, head of Forecasts & Strategies, talks to Paul Dykewicz.

This Space Stock Achieves a Bullseye

Subscribers of Bullseye Stock Trader collected a profit of 21.67% in 2019 when Woods recommended the stock for slightly more than three months. He also recommended related call options in Bullseye Stock Trader that produced a profit of 166.67%.

Fast Money Alert subscribers gained 9.59% after only about a month late in 2022 with a follow-up recommendation of Booz Allen Hamilton. A related call option recommendation in Fast Money Alert for Booz Allen Hamilton produced a 239.27% profit in less than one month.

Bryan Perry, who leads the Cash Machine investment newsletter, generated a 25% gain for his subscribers in the Breakout Options Alert advisory service in less than three weeks last May.

Bryan Perry leads the Breakout Options Alert advisory service.

Connell Counsels to Buy Booz Allen Hamilton

Michelle Connell, owner and president of Dallas-based Portia Capital Management LLC, also favors Booz Allen Hamilton. Focused on wealth management for private investors and non-profit institutions, Connell advised that the company has “robust fundamentals” and has generated more than a half billion dollars in free cash flow every year for the last 10 years. Its return on equity is well over 50%, she added.

Plus, the company’s revenue growth is in excess of 15% a year. Expect this to increase given the demand for AI-related consulting services, Connell continued.

The stock’s dividend yield of 1.28% likely will increase, given the amount of demand for AI ,as well as its strong free cash flow, she added. Plus, there is no short interest in the stock, adding that means no one is willing to go against BAH and its stock performance, Connell concluded.

Michelle Connell leads Dallas-based Portia Capital Management.

Three Space Stocks to Buy as Geopolitical Risk Mounts

An enhanced alliance between Russia and North Korea is adding additional risk to the ongoing wars in the world. Experts speculate China’s leaders likely are worried about a potential loss of influence over North Korea after its leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a pact this week, according to the Associated Press.

The alliance not only will give Russia additional access to arms and military equipment as it continues its invasion of Ukraine, but it could increase instability on the Korean Peninsula. China’s leaders now face what could be the strongest Russia-North Korea partnership since the Cold War.

The increased drama comes as the Middle Eastern conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hama shows no end in sight, while Russia keeps trying to gain further ground in Ukraine. To aid in Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s unrelenting attack, Western governments have been supplying additional arms and equipment, as well as allowing some of it to be used against military targets that previously had been declared off-limits.

The three space stocks to buy as launches multiply are benefitting from strong demand from launch services to put both commercial and military spacecraft in orbit. Investors who aim for share price appreciation increasingly have been able to find it from space stocks that provide launch services and support satellite operators.

Paul Dykewicz, www.pauldykewicz.com, is an accomplished, award-winning journalist who has written for Dow Jones, the Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, USA Today, the Journal of Commerce, Seeking Alpha, Guru Focus and other publications and websites. Paul, who can be followed on Twitter @PaulDykewicz, is the editor of StockInvestor.com and DividendInvestor.com, a writer for both websites and a columnist. He further is editorial director of Eagle Financial Publications in Washington, D.C., where he edits monthly investment newsletters, time-sensitive trading alerts, free e-letters and other investment reports. Paul previously served as business editor of Baltimore’s Daily Record newspaper. Special Sale for Graduation Season! Paul is the author of an inspirational book, “Holy Smokes! Golden Guidance from Notre Dame’s Championship Chaplain,” with a foreword by former national championship-winning football coach Lou Holtz. The uplifting book is great gift and is endorsed by Joe Montana, Joe Theismann, Ara Parseghian, “Rocket” Ismail, Reggie Brooks, Dick Vitale and many others. Call 202-677-4457 for reduced pricing on multiple-book purchases.