New York, June 15, 2026, 09:04 EDT
- Rocket Lab shares were poised to rebound at the open Monday after sliding sharply on Friday, with SpaceX entering the market.
- KeyBanc bumped its rating on RKLB to Overweight, assigned a $135 price target and gave the stock a fresh catalyst from its analyst team.
- Rocket Lab is set to join the Nasdaq-100 on June 22, a date investors are watching.
Rocket Lab Corporation stock is rebounding in premarket Monday, after last week’s steep drop. RKLB closed at $102.39 Friday, down 10.79%. Ahead of the open, the stock traded at $108.67, up 6.13%, according to MarketWatch. Some traders said buyers are coming back in after the recent selloff. The move follows a new Wall Street upgrade and the company’s addition to the Nasdaq-100.
KeyBanc set off the move. Analyst Michael Leshock upgraded Rocket Lab to Overweight from Sector Weight, citing a $135 price target, according to StockAnalysis coverage of The Fly. An Overweight rating means the analyst thinks the shares will beat a benchmark or group of peers. The upgrade followed a rough Friday for the sector—Reuters reported Rocket Lab and Planet Labs both lost about 8% as traders took some money out after SpaceX began trading. Stocks can move up if buyers expect more growth, cash, or demand from index funds. They fall when investors take money off the table, doubt the value, or switch to something they like more.
Rocket Lab set to join Nasdaq-100 in June shakeup
Nasdaq said Thursday it will add Rocket Lab to the Nasdaq-100 index before the open on June 22. Astera Labs, CoreWeave, Nebius, and Teradyne are also joining in the same rebalance, according to the company. Funds that track the Nasdaq-100 will need to add these stocks after the changes. The index comprises the top non-financial firms trading on Nasdaq. Rocket Lab CEO Sir Peter Beck called the move “a landmark moment for Rocket Lab,” in a statement.
Rocket Lab has moved past pure space buzz, posting first-quarter revenue of $200.3 million, up 63.5% from a year ago. Its backlog hit $2.2 billion, a 20.2% increase from last quarter, the company said in its May results filing. Backlog tracks signed deals that haven’t hit revenue yet. In the quarter, Rocket Lab announced 31 new Electron and HASTE launch deals and five for Neutron. Neutron isn’t live, but it’s Rocket Lab’s play for the bigger launch market where SpaceX is ahead.
Bears are mostly worried about valuation and execution. Rocket Lab is unprofitable, so its price-to-earnings ratio is negative—meaning no earnings to divide into the share price. Latest finance quote pegs market cap at $62 billion, while 2025 revenue is forecast at $601.8 million, per StockAnalysis. That leaves RKLB at nearly 100x last year’s sales, which is high even for the aerospace sector. Reuters said some investors may be rotating out of smaller space companies in favor of SpaceX, which could keep pressure on Rocket Lab and similar stocks if SpaceX stays the sector’s main yardstick.
Rocket Lab isn’t looking cheap at this level, just risky. Catalysts are still on the table: possible Nasdaq-100 inclusion, the recent positive KeyBanc call, that strong backlog, and Neutron progress. Shares have already run up, so a lot of good news already looks priced in. Index funds could show up for some technical buying June 22, but the real test is turning that backlog into profits and advancing Neutron without costly problems.
