Ready to Launch on Rocket Lab, Planet Labs Shares
The Trump administration revealed plans earlier this week to speed up commercial space licensing. The plan is to remove some “red tape” or what it sees as “unnecessary” environmental reviews. Such a change would benefit launch providers and space infrastructure companies in terms of meeting sharply increased demand for services.
The Federal Aviation Administration, under this president, has proposed new rules that could waive requirements under federal environmental and natural resource laws for certain commercial space licenses and permits. The Trump administration says that it will leave in place reviews required to protect public safety, property and national security.
In a prepared statement, Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy commented, “America won the first Space Race, and we can do it again, but only if we get government red tape out of the way,” Duffy said that Pres. Trump had directed him to “unlock the final frontier” by “supercharging commercial space activity, slashing costs and strengthening America’s competitive edge.”
During the past five years, the FAA has authorized more commercial space operations than during the previous three decades combined, including a record 204 operations in fiscal 2025. The agency is projecting as many as 4,288 licensed operations over the next decade, up from just 214 this year.
“Commercial space activity is surging, and we must do everything safely possible to support this vital sector. The bottom line is clear: We will not keep pace with this rapid growth unless we streamline, modernize and strengthen our regulatory approach,” FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said.
The FAA will accept public comments on the proposal for 30 days before determining whether to issue a final rule.
The portfolio sees such a change as directly beneficial to Rocket Lab ($RKLB) for obvious reasons as a provider of such services, but also to Planet Labs as a consumer of said services.
Analysts on SOFI
Donald Fanetti of Wells Fargo (5 stars at TipRanks) initiated a “hold” rating after assignment, while reducing his firm’s target price from $18 to $17.
Mihir Bhatia of Bank of America (5 stars) reiterated a “sell” rating while reducing his target price from $17 to $16.
Andrew Jeffrey of William Blair (5 sars) reiterated a “buy” rating without setting a target price.
Vincent Caintic of BTIG (4 stars) initiated a “hold” rating after assignment, without setting a target price.
Moshe Orenbach of TD Cowen (5 stars) initiated a “hold” rating after assignment, while setting a target price of $18.
Dan Dolev of Mizuho (5 stars) reiterated a “buy” rating while reducing his target price from $29 to $22.
Terry Ma of Barclays (3 stars) reiterated a “hold” rating as well as his target price of $18.
Kyle Peterson of Neeham (1 star) reiterated a “buy” rating while reducing his target price from $25 to $24.
Jeffrey Adelson of Morgan Stanley (0 stars) reiterated a “sell” rating while reducing his target price from $16 to $15.
Will Nance of Goldman Sachs (0 stars) initiated a “hold” rating after assignment, while reducing his firm’s target price from $21 to $18.
Portfolio News
– Ocular Therapeutix ($OCUL): On Thursday morning, analyst Lisa Walter of RBC Capital reiterated her “buy” rating on OCUL along with her $30 target price. Walter is rated at three stars out of five at TipRanks. She has a success rate of 51% over the past two years with an average return of 6%.
– Ondas Inc ($ONDS): According to a Schedule 13G filing with the SEC, BlackRock (BLK) has disclosed a passive 7.2% stake in Ondas Inc. The asset manager reported beneficial ownership of 38.1M shares of ONDS common stock.
– Rocket Lab: On Thursday morning, portfolio holding Rocket Lab announced that a multi-launch deal has been signed with the Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space. The deal calls for three new dedicated launches on the Electron platform. This is the third multi-launch booking on Electron by iQPS announced in less than a calendar year, bringing the total number of launches booked to 18. Each mission will deploy a single QPS-SAR satellite to a low Earth orbit that will continue the build out of iQPS’ Earth-imaging constellation using synthetic aperture radar.
Upcoming Portfolio Earnings
– Inseego Corp ($INSG): After the closing bell on Wednesday, Aug. 5. Expected: Adjusted loss per share of $0.12 on revenue of $39.91 million.
– Alto Ingredients ($ALTO): After the closing bell on Aug. 5. Expected: Adjusted EPS of $0.09 on revenue of $231.22 million.
– Ocular Therapeutix ($OCUL): Ahead of the opening bell on Thursday, Aug. 6. Expected: Unadjusted loss per share of $0.39 on revenue of $13.2 million.
– Rackspace Technology ($RXT): Ahead of the opening bell on Friday, Aug. 7. Expected: Unadjusted loss per share of $0.09 on revenue of $646 million.
– Ondas Inc: After the closing bell on Friday, Aug. 14. Expected: Adjusted loss per share of $0.07 on revenue of $68 million.
Wednesday’s Intentions Vs. Actual Trades
– Sell 50 shares of SOFI ($SOFI) at or close to the last sale of $15.14.
– Sold 50 shares of SOFI at $15.485.
– Purchase one Aug. 20 $20 SOFI call below Wednesday night’s closing price of $0.27 to exit that position.
– Bought one Aug 20th $20 SOFI at $0.09.
Thursday’s Intentions
– Purchase two shares of RKLB at or close to the last sale of $61.13.
– Purchase 10 shares of PL ($PL) at or close to the last sale of $19.81.
Current Positions
Long 200 shares of ALTO at $5.3611. Target Price: $8. Last sale: $4.39.
Long 80 shares of EVLV at $5.8959. Target Price: $8.50. Last sale: $5.50.
Long 40 shares of INSG at $7.7563. Target Price: $11. Last sale: $6.57.
Long 100 shares of OCUL at $8.3569. Target Price: $11. Last sale: $8.57.
Short one OCUL $11 Sep 18th call at $1.65, Last sale: $0.65.
Long 250 shares of ONDS at $8.4266. Target Price: $14. Last sale: $7.09.
Long 40 shares of PL at $25.3973. Target Price $46. Last sale: $19.81.
Long 4 shares of RKLB at $66.505. Target Price $98. Last sale: $61.13.
Long 100 shares of RXT at $4.886. No Target Price. Last sale: $3.85.
Long 100 shares of SOFI at $15.7153. Target Price: $24. Last sale: $15.42.
Long 30 shares of SWBI at $15.74. Target Price: $19. Last sale: $14.50.
Long 100 shares of VELO at $12.4561. Target Price: $18. Right Now. Last sale: $8.88.
Cash: $881.00.
Portfolio Value: $9,315.61, -6.8% from inception on March 24.
At the time of publication, Guilfoyle’s $10K portfolio was long ALTO, EVLV, INSG , OCUL, ONDS, PL, RKLB, RXT, SOFI, SWBI, VELO; Short OCUL.
