rocket lab Shares rose by more than a quarter this week as the aerospace company signed new launch deals in the booming space technology industry.
The stock was flat on Friday, but has risen more than 20% this week. The stock has risen nearly 50% in the past two weeks and was trading near its all-time high on Friday.
The stock price has nearly tripled since the beginning of the year.
The company announced Friday that it has secured two launches with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, scheduled for December and 2026.
Earlier this week, Rocket Lab announced a multi-launch agreement with Japanese space startup company Q-shu Pioneers of Space. This is in addition to the four contract missions.
Late last month, the company also secured 10 additional launch missions for Synspective, bringing the total with the Japanese satellite company to 21. The first mission is scheduled for later this month.
Rocket Lab’s extreme stock price movements could also be the result of short covering, which occurs when short sellers buy securities to close out positions and reduce losses. Short interest accounted for nearly 14% of Rocket Lab’s free float at the end of September.
Investors poured more money into the space sector this year as governments greenlit more contracts and funding.
The space sector is currently dominated by billionaire-backed ventures such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX, but this year has also seen a wave of initial public offerings by companies such as: firefly aerospaceVoyager Technologies, and Kalman Holdings.
