Blue Origin Pauses New Shepard Flights to Focus on Lunar Development
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: 17h ago
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Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin announced it will pause its New Shepard flights and shift resources to further accelerate development of the company's human lunar capabilities. "The decision reflects Blue Origin's commitment to the nation's goal of returning to the Moon and establishing a permanent, sustained lunar presence. New Shepard is the first reusable spaceflight system to vertically land and has flown 38 times and carried 98 humans above the Karman line to date. New Shepard has launched more than 200 scientific and research payloads from students, academia, research organizations, and NASA. This consistent and reliable performance, combined with an exceptional customer experience, has resulted in a multi-year customer backlog," the company stated. Publicly traded companies in the space launch and services area include Rocket Lab (RKLB), ViaSat (VSAT), EchoStar (SATS), AST Space Mobile (ASTS), Voyager Technologies (VOYG), Intuitive Machines (LUNR), FireFly Aerospace (FLY) and Virgin Galactic (SPCE).
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Analyst Views on RKLB
Wall Street analysts forecast RKLB stock price to fall over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for RKLB is 73.11 USD with a low forecast of 60.00 USD and a high forecast of 90.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
11 Analyst Rating
8 Buy
3 Hold
0 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 85.680
Low
60.00
Averages
73.11
High
90.00
Current: 85.680
Low
60.00
Averages
73.11
High
90.00
About RKLB
Rocket Lab Corporation is an end-to-end space company. The Company designs and manufactures small and medium-class rockets, spacecraft and spacecraft components, and related software and services to support the space economy. The Company delivers reliable launch services, satellite manufacture, spacecraft design services, spacecraft components, spacecraft manufacturing, and other spacecraft and on-orbit management solutions that make it easier to access space. Its Launch Services segment provides launch and launch-related services to customers on a dedicated mission or ride-share basis. Its Space Systems segment comprises the design and manufacture of spacecraft components and spacecraft program management services, space data applications, and mission operations. Its space systems solutions are the building blocks for spacecraft, which include composite structures, reaction wheels, star trackers, solar solutions, radios, separation systems, and command and control spacecraft software.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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