ASTS, RKLB Stocks Sink To Multi-Month Lows While SPCX Holds Steady – Piper Sandler Says Elon Musk's Company Is Yet To Prove Itself

AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) and Rocket Lab (RKLB) shares plummeted over 15% and 10% respectively on Thursday, hitting multi-month lows ahead of SpaceX's latest Starship test flight, despite Piper Sandler initiating coverage of all three space-sector names. ASTS's selloff was compounded by the pricing of a $1 billion convertible senior notes offering with a $79.57 conversion price, well above its ~$57 trading level; Piper Sandler assigned an 'Overweight' rating and $100 target, citing ASTS's more palatable valuation and mobile network operator partnerships.

Why it matters: Piper Sandler rated RKLB 'Neutral' with an $83 target, noting its Electron vehicle dominates small-payload launches but trades at a premium to SpaceX, while SpaceX (SPCX) received a 'Neutral' rating and $156 target as Piper Sandler said the market needs more time to be convinced of its AI data center ambitions; SPCX traded flat.