Key insights
- The space economy, projected to exceed $1 trillion by 2030, presents investment opportunities despite current overvaluation concerns. Kratos Defense (KTOS) is highlighted as a defensible bet with significant analyst upside potential. Rocket Lab (RKLB) shows improving margins and benefits from its Iridium acquisition. However, Planet Labs
Investing.com -- Space stocks are navigating a hangover. The sector rose 50–100% into the SpaceX IPO, then fell sharply as institutional capital — previously bottled up with no public vehicle — finally flowed into the newly listed giant. As of Sep 22, 2026, the dust is beginning to settle, but the opportunity is real: the space economy crossed $500B in 2025 and Berenberg’s inaugural sector coverage (Sep 2, 2026) targets a $1T+ market by 2030, driven by declining launch costs and expanding constellation demand. Read more
Three core ETFs tell the story (all prices as of Sep 22, 2026, market open):
Screener values are index snapshots and may lag live prices.
SPDR Kensho Final Frontiers (ROKT)’s outperformance is notable — its tilt toward revenue-generating, defense-adjacent names has clearly paid off versus more speculative peers.
The core tension in space investing: extraordinary growth against painful pre-profitability. All figures as of Sep 22, 2026 (latest available period).
RKLB’s margin journey is the standout here — from 9% in FY2022 to 34.4% in FY2025 — as Electron launches scale and the Space Systems segment matures. Its $8B Iridium acquisition (Jun 2026) adds a profitable, recurring satellite-services revenue base that could accelerate this further. Read more
A hard truth: InvestingPro’s Fair Value model flags all four names as overvalued on a pure DCF basis — RKLB at -53%, PL at -43%, ASTS at -27%, KTOS at -22%. This doesn’t make them uninvestable, but it confirms the sector still prices in significant optionality and future growth. High-beta names (ASTS at 2.73, RKLB at 2.61) amplify both upside and drawdown risk considerably.
The analyst community disagrees with that caution, especially on Kratos Defense (KTOS), where consensus targets imply 115.4% upside — the widest gap in the group.
Among the public pure-plays, Kratos Defense (KTOS) stands out as the sector’s most defensible bet — and that word choice is intentional.
Why KTOS is different:
The bear case: Gross margins (23%) lag peers; defense contract dependency creates concentration risk; and fair value models still flag overvaluation at -22.3%.
The Berenberg angle: The firm also launched with Buy on Rocket Lab (RKLB), calling it "the only end-to-end public pure-play in space" — for investors with higher risk appetite and a longer horizon, RKLB’s margin trajectory is worth watching closely alongside the Neutron rocket’s debut (late 2026/early 2027). Read more
The SpaceX IPO reset created a rare scenario: a structurally growing sector temporarily de-rated by its own flagship listing. The cleanup may take time, but the fundamental trajectory — declining launch costs, constellation demand, defense integration — remains intact.
Historical data is limited to 10 years on Pro+ plan.
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Our Fair Value model runs 17 proven valuation methods on KTOS and returns one number: what the stock is worth today, and how far the current price sits from it.Same calculation on thousands of other stocks — so you can see instantly whether KTOS is the best value on the table, or whether something cheaper is hiding in plain sight.