NEW YORK, January 1, 2026, 11:07 ET — Market closed
- Rocket Lab shares last closed down 0.98% at $69.76 on Dec. 31 as U.S. markets shut for New Year’s Day. 1
- A Form 4 filing showed director Edward H. Frank sold 2,500 shares and gifted 5,000 shares in late-December transactions. 2
- Focus now shifts to January macro data and the company’s next earnings update as investors weigh December’s defense-contract boost. 3
Rocket Lab Corp shares ended 2025 with a modest pullback, and there is no U.S. cash-session trading on Thursday because markets are closed for New Year’s Day. 1
The stock’s late-December surge has put a brighter spotlight on insider activity and follow-through into 2026, after the company won a major U.S. defense satellite award that helped re-rate space names. 4
That matters now because Rocket Lab has become a barometer for investor appetite for riskier aerospace and defense growth stories at the start of a new year, when liquidity can be thin and price swings can widen. 5
Rocket Lab (RKLB.O) last closed down 0.98% at $69.76 on Wednesday, after trading between $69.13 and $73.20. In after-hours trading — when stocks trade outside normal market hours — shares were last indicated slightly higher at $69.98. 1
U.S. stocks finished the year’s final session lower, capping a holiday-shortened week of light trading, according to a Reuters market wrap. 5
A Form 4 filing — the SEC disclosure used to report insider transactions — showed Rocket Lab director Edward H. Frank sold 2,500 shares at $77.3887 and disposed of 5,000 shares as a gift, both dated Dec. 23 and filed on Dec. 30. The filing showed he held 142,504 shares after the transactions. 2
The trade was small versus Rocket Lab’s recent daily share volume, but it arrives after a volatile December in which the stock swung sharply around defense-contract headlines. 1
Rocket Lab has been in the spotlight since it announced a landmark Space Development Agency award to build 18 Tracking Layer Tranche 3 satellites under a contract valued at $816 million, including a $806 million base amount and options. “Rocket Lab is honored to play a role in enabling this,” founder and CEO Peter Beck said in the company’s Dec. 19 statement. 4
The SDA program also includes fixed-price deals with Lockheed Martin, L3Harris Technologies and Northrop Grumman, Reuters reported. 6
A company filing said final delivery of the satellites is expected in 2029, pushing investor attention toward execution risk — manufacturing cadence, cost control and schedule discipline — rather than near-term launch headlines alone. 7
Before the next session, traders will watch whether Rocket Lab holds near $69 — “support,” or the area where buyers have recently stepped in — after Wednesday’s low of $69.13. On the upside, technicians often focus on the $73 area as a near-term ceiling after the prior session’s high of $73.20. 1
The next major fundamental catalyst is the company’s quarterly results. Rocket Lab has not confirmed a date, but several earnings calendars list late February (around Feb. 26) as the expected reporting window based on past patterns. 8
Macro catalysts are also close enough to matter for high-growth stocks that trade on rate expectations. The U.S. Labor Department’s January schedule shows the December 2025 employment report is due Jan. 9, followed by December CPI on Jan. 13. 3
Rocket Lab, which provides launch services and space systems, has leaned into government and national security work alongside its commercial business — and investors will be watching for any fresh contract wins or program updates that could reset expectations in early 2026. 4
