SpaceX Options Bulls Return, Rocket Lab Surges 16%, AADX Receives Buy Ratings from Multiple Wall Street Firms
N.R. Finch
SpaceX rebounded 7% after a roughly 35% pullback from its post-IPO high, with call volume running over four times put volume; Rocket Lab jumped 16% on a satellite-communications deal, and newly listed defense supplier AADX drew buy ratings from five Wall Street firms on the same day.
SpaceX bounced 7% — is the pullback over?
SpaceX rose 7% Monday, hitting its highest level since the prior Tuesday, after falling roughly 35% from its post-IPO peak.
On a technical basis, the stock held around $147 — its historical low — suggesting buy-side support during the pullback.
This means → the market has drawn a tentative floor at $147, but whether the full 35% decline can be recovered depends on follow-through volume.
What is the options market betting on?
Per ThinkOrSwim data, SpaceX call volume ran over four times put volume Monday; total call open was twice total put open.
Of the top ten contracts by volume, seven were calls, and nine expire this Thursday. In plain terms = heavy money is betting SpaceX keeps rising within days.
One representative trade: with shares at $155, a trader sold roughly $450,000 of 150-strike puts (January 2027 expiry) and bought an equal notional of 160-strike calls. This means → the trader sees little downside below 150 and upside past 160 — a classic bullish risk reversal (selling downside protection to fund an upside bet).
Speculation ran hotter still: the second-most-traded contract was a 300-strike call expiring Thursday, costing about $0.10 per contract — requiring SpaceX to nearly double within the week to pay off. Strategist Charles Moon called these buyers "trying to engineer a gamma squeeze — forcing market makers to buy shares as hedging pushes the stock up — but market makers are well-prepared; it's unlikely to happen." Moon himself bought SpaceX shares and 170-strike calls.
Rocket Lab surged 16% — what was the catalyst?
Rocket Lab (RKLB) jumped 16% in a single session. The direct catalyst: a partnership agreement with Iridium Communications, reigniting interest in the satellite-communications sector.
Market chatter about SpaceX potentially acquiring a mobile carrier added further fuel to sector sentiment.
Rocket Lab options volume ran roughly 50% above its 30-day average, with a call-to-put ratio of about four to one. This reflects capital flowing not just into SpaceX but across the broader commercial space sector.
Who is AADX, and why did five firms initiate with buy ratings?
Applied Aerospace & Defense (AADX) completed its IPO earlier this month, formed by merging Applied Aerospace Structures and PCX Aerosystems. It priced at $20/share, raising $650 million, and closed Friday at $20.53.
In plain terms = this is a newly public, mid-cap defense parts supplier whose customers span tactical aircraft, missiles, radar, and space-launch systems — that last line ties it directly to the post-SpaceX-IPO sector momentum.
With the quiet period over, five Wall Street firms initiated coverage Monday, all at buy or outperform. This means → the moment underwriter research restrictions lifted, the sell side lined up bullish — signaling institutional conviction in the defense supply-chain theme.
What are the target prices and core theses?
Wolfe Research: target $23, calling AADX "a mid-cap, 100%-defense-focused supplier filling a gap" with deep materials-science expertise; expects mid-teens organic sales growth and roughly 20% EBITDA growth over the coming years.
Bank of America: target $24, forecasting 14% compound annual revenue growth from 2025 to 2030 and margin expansion of about 350 basis points — roughly 3.5 percentage points of additional profitability.
RBC Capital Markets and Stifel both set targets at $24; RBC focuses on merger integration progress, while Stifel sees the strengthened balance sheet supporting roughly 5% of revenue directed toward growth capex and M&A.
Baird issued the highest target at $30, implying roughly 46% upside from Friday's close, framing the current environment as a "Cold War 2.0 era" in which AADX benefits from defense-industrial-base rebuilding.
Sector sentiment is warming — what to watch next?
For SpaceX: whether $147 holds as a floor and whether the options-market bull signal converts into sustained buying.
For Rocket Lab: whether the Iridium partnership delivers real revenue, rather than remaining a sentiment catalyst alone.
For AADX: whether integration execution and organic growth validate analyst expectations — five firms initiating bullish is a starting point, not a finish line.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.