A $3.57 billion total backlog is framing Rocket Lab USA (NASDAQ: RKLB) as one of the more closely watched names in the commercial space sector heading into 2027.
Wall Street attention intensified following the company’s third-quarter earnings release, with multiple firms updating their price targets in response to results that showed both strength and strain.
Cantor Fitzgerald trimmed its price target on the stock to $111 from $122, yet kept an ‘Overweight’ rating, noting that the revised target still implies roughly 110% upside from current trading levels.
The firm pointed to Rocket Lab’s launch record, diversified rocket portfolio, expanding customer base, and dedicated launch infrastructure as durable competitive advantages heading into two pivotal events.
Those catalysts are the commercialization of the Neutron rocket and the anticipated closure of the company’s planned acquisition of Iridium Communications for approximately $8 billion.
The Iridium deal, which would give Rocket Lab a global satellite communications footprint, is expected to close by mid-2027 pending regulatory approvals.
Clear Street also moved its price target higher, raising it to $110 from $105 while maintaining a ‘Buy’ rating, with analyst Greg Pendy stating that the company’s record backlog provides “multi-year visibility.”
Piper Sandler offered a more cautious note, flagging that the Neutron launch timeline remains the single most important near-term variable even as launch demand continues to grow.
That concern carries weight: Rocket Lab confirmed last month that its Neutron rocket launch has been pushed to 2027 after manufacturing problems emerged with the first-stage fuel tank dome, scrapping an earlier Q4 target.
Despite the delay, Rocket Lab pulled in more than $515 million in Neutron-related contracts during the third quarter alone, underscoring persistent customer confidence in the program.
On the financial side, Q3 revenue climbed 73% to $267.83 million, clearing the consensus estimate of $257.18 million, though a per-share loss of $0.12 came in wider than the $0.07 analysts had projected.
Management guided Q4 revenue in the range of $270 million to $290 million, signaling continued top-line momentum even as profitability pressures persist.
Away from the balance sheet, the company reported a milestone in its work for NASA, announcing that two spacecraft it built for the ESCAPADE mission successfully completed Trans-Mars injection burns.
The twin probes, named Blue and Gold, are now on a trajectory toward Mars, where they are expected to enter orbit in September 2027 and begin studying how solar wind interacts with the Martian atmosphere, with full scientific operations set for 2028.
Despite RKLB shares sitting nearly 23% lower so far in 2026, retail sentiment on Stocktwits shifted to ‘bullish’ from ‘neutral’ in the 24 hours following the earnings release, accompanied by elevated message volume, with one user describing the Neutron delay as “just a bump in the road.”
