The blockbuster debut of Space Exploration Technologies — better known as SpaceX — has consumed the market’s attention this past month.
That’s fair enough as it’s one of the most consequential initial public offerings (IPOs) in years, and the stock has been soaring since its initial public offering (IPO)
But here’s what gets lost in that noise: While investors scramble for SpaceX shares, a group of smaller, public space companies has been doing real, measurable work that doesn’t show up in the IPO headlines. The four stocks below are still becoming household names and merit more attention. 1. Rocket Lab Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB) is probably the closest thing to SpaceX on the public markets, which means it often gets overshadowed rather than evaluated on its own terms.
That would be a mistake right now. Earlier this year, Rocket Lab completed the acquisition of Motiv Space Systems, a robotics company whose technology has literally driven on Mars. With this buy, Rocket Lab is becoming a full-stack space systems builder.