Berenberg launched coverage of the space sector on Wednesday, identifying three U.S.-listed stocks it believes are positioned to lead the industry’s rapid expansion.
Analyst Michael Filatov initiated Buy ratings on AST SpaceMobile (ASTS), Rocket Lab (RKLB), and Planet Labs (PL), citing falling launch costs as a key driver of growth across the sector.
Filatov said lower launch costs helped push the space economy past $500 billion in 2025, and the market is now on track to exceed $1 trillion by 2030.
Berenberg said it favors companies with vertically integrated launch capabilities, meaning firms that control a greater share of their own launch supply chain rather than relying on outside providers.
The brokerage also expressed a preference for companies whose satellite networks, technologies, and capabilities would be difficult for competitors to replicate in the near term.
All three stocks were trading lower in pre-market trading on Wednesday, with ASTS edging down 0.9%, PL falling 0.8%, and RKLB declining nearly 3%.
Rocket Lab received an $83 price target, with Filatov calling it the “only end-to-end public pure-play in space,” a designation that reflects the company’s broad operational footprint across the sector.
Rocket Lab operates its Electron small-orbital launch vehicle, launches satellites for the U.S. government and global firms, and also maintains its own on-orbit assets and satellite operations.
In June, Rocket Lab built its own Pioneer spacecraft, launched it aboard Electron for the U.S. Space Force, and subsequently operated the satellite in orbit, demonstrating its full-stack capabilities.
Berenberg set a $92 price target for AST SpaceMobile, representing a 65% upside, highlighting the company’s ability to provide cellular broadband directly to ordinary smartphones without specialized hardware.
The firm also pointed to ASTS partnerships with more than 60 mobile network operators, covering roughly 3 billion subscribers worldwide, as a significant commercial advantage over rivals.
ASTS has been rapidly expanding its constellation, launching BlueBirds 8 through 10 in June and BlueBirds 11, 12, and 13 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 in August.
For Planet Labs, Berenberg set a $25 price target and identified data as the company’s primary competitive differentiator in an increasingly crowded space imaging market.
Filatov noted that Planet Labs is the only company imaging the entire Earth daily, and its years-long imagery archive would be extremely difficult for competitors to reproduce.
The analyst also sees artificial intelligence unlocking additional demand for Planet Labs’ imagery as real-world training data, while helping customers analyze the company’s massive archive more efficiently at scale.
Retail sentiment on Stocktwits for both RKLB and ASTS remained bearish over the prior 24 hours, while sentiment for PL shifted to extremely bullish from bullish a day earlier.
In 2026, ASTS shares have declined by approximately 18%, RKLB stock has slumped by more than 33%, and PL shares have fallen by around 6%, leaving all three well off their recent highs.
