German private bank Berenberg has launched equity research coverage of the space sector, initiating four stocks with Buy ratings and setting price targets between $24 and $92. The firm’s analyst Michael Filatov also maintained an existing Buy rating on OHB SE, while assigning a Hold rating to Avio SpA with a €33 target.
The four newly covered companies—Rocket Lab, AST SpaceMobile, Planet Labs and HawkEye 360—join Avio and OHB in Berenberg’s space-sector coverage universe. Rocket Lab received an $83 price target, the highest among the new initiations, while AST SpaceMobile’s $92 target was noted as the group’s highest overall. Planet Labs and HawkEye 360 were assigned $25 and $24 targets, respectively.
Filatov highlighted structural growth drivers in the space economy, which is projected to exceed $500 billion in 2025 and approach $1 trillion by 2030. He emphasized demand from defense and sovereignty spending as the most de-risked catalyst, noting global defense space expenditure reached $74 billion in 2025 and the U.S. Space Force’s fiscal 2027 budget request more than doubled from the prior year.
Among the covered names, Filatov described Rocket Lab as the only end-to-end public pure-play in space, citing its dominance in dedicated small launch, the acquisition of Iridium’s space systems business and near-term revenue upside. AST SpaceMobile was characterized as the only company with demonstrated cellular broadband connectivity from space to unmodified smartphones, with backing from over 60 mobile network operator partnerships covering roughly 3 billion subscribers.
Planet Labs was framed as the only operator imaging the entire Earth daily, with Filatov noting revenue growth acceleration from about 10% to 42% over five quarters and a 72% year-over-year increase in backlog to approximately $906 million. HawkEye 360 was positioned as offering unique exposure to radio-frequency signals intelligence, reporting 33% organic growth in the second quarter.
Filatov maintained a Hold rating on Avio SpA, citing near-term earnings pressure from capital spending at its new Virginia plant and an expected payoff horizon beyond 2029. The firm’s existing Buy rating on OHB SE was retained.
