A view from onboard the upper stage of rocket LV0009 in the course of the company’s livestream on March 15, 2022.
Astra / NASASpaceflight
The space sector’s on the tail end of a boom-and-bust cycle. While many corporations battened down the hatches to survive, a number of publicly-traded names are running on fumes.
A flurry of a few dozen space corporations went public over the previous few years. Although each have had fairly dismal stock performances since their debuts, the bulk are still moving forward and look to construct momentum within the 12 months ahead, with some closing in on coveted profitability milestones.
But a trio of names appear prone to go the best way of Virgin Orbit, which flamed out last 12 months. Here’s who’s most prone to delisting, acquisition and even bankruptcy.
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Momentus
Space tug operator Momentus has already warned shareholders that it’s running out of cash, and earlier this month the corporate abandoned plans for its next mission.
Once valued at over $1 billion, Momentus has undergone a tumultuous couple of years. Despite a 1-for-50 stock split last 12 months, its shares currently trade near 80 cents, putting the corporate at a depressed $7 million valuation.
The subsequent few weeks will likely prove crucial for Momentus to search out a serious latest backer or buyer, or else face bankruptcy.
Astra
Astra has been conducting piece-meal financing rounds from a handful of investors over the past couple months, as the corporate’s been nearly out of money since October.
Its rocket-launching business has been on hiatus since June 2022, and its acquired spacecraft business just isn’t driving meaningful revenue growth. And, while the corporate’s founders floated a take-private plan in November, there’s been no word from Astra’s board of directors on the proposal.
Once valued at over $2.5 billion, Astra’s valuation has been under $50 million for months.
Wanting completing that take-private deal, it’s unclear how the corporate could climb out of its cash-desperate situation.
Sidus
Sidus Space is a little-known space company that went the standard IPO route in late 2021 and started trading on the Nasdaq at a near $200 million valuation. Sidus has aimed to construct its own satellite constellation as a testing or data platform for a wide range of customers.
But it surely’s seen minimal revenue growth and rising annual net losses. While its inaugural satellite was presupposed to launch in late 2022, the corporate has yet to get the spacecraft in orbit, most recently targeting a March launch.
Sidus has raised small amounts of funding through public stock offerings of $5 million or less since its IPO. But it surely had lower than $2 million in money at the tip of September, trading at a near $9 million valuation in response to FactSet.
Last month, Sidus performed a 1-for-100 reverse stock split to regain compliance with Nasdaq listing rules.
Momentus, Astra and Sidus didn’t reply to CNBC requests for comment.
Elsewhere in space
A fourth space company in a potentially precarious spot is satellite imagery company Satellogic. Its most up-to-date financial update only dates to the tip of June. On the time, Satellogic disclosed it had substantial doubt of surviving through September 2024. The corporate’s stock currently trades near $1.50, at a $21 million valuation.
Despite some likely turbulence ahead, the space sector as an entire is not necessarily struggling and continues to draw interest from the private markets. Overall, investment within the space sector bounced back in 2023, with corporations bringing in $12.5 billion in investment last 12 months.
And while industry analysts predicted a fallout from the flurry of public debuts a pair years back, it hasn’t been as severe as forecast just yet. Many space stocks are below where they were once they got here to market — and in lots of cases well behind original financial forecasts — but most aren’t on death’s door.
For instance, Terran Orbital won’t be near the $411 million in 2023 revenue it forecast when it was going public three years ago. But, despite its stock price trading near 80 cents at a $156 million valuation, Terran Orbital appears to have a lifeline from a key customer.
Earlier this month, Terran announced receipt of a milestone payment from its biggest customer, Rivada, and, on the identical day, said its money at year-end was $70 million, up from $39 million at the tip of the third quarter.
