🚀 ARKX Buys Rocket Lab

View this email in your browser

The Space Scoop

Week Ended 09.30.2022

Happy Friday! September has to come to an end with red markets and a quiet week on the space news front. Early Q3 earnings reports have started to trickle in on the calendar as well. Lets dive in.

📈 Market Max-Q

S&P 500: 3,585.87 -2.9%NASDAQ: 10,575.63 -2.7%UFO: 17.87 -2.3%ROKT: 33.59 -1.5%ARKX: 12.36 -3.6%SSIT: 60.5 -5.3%SATL: 4.5 +6.3%VORB: 3.07 -6.4%MNTS: 1.37 -9.3%LLAP: 1.77 -31.7%1W return as of 4:00pm EDT.

🚀 Top Stories

1) Cathie Wood and her ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETF ($ARKX) acquired 298,964 shares of Rocket Lab ($RKLB) this week worth roughly $1.25M.

• While this is not the first Space SPAC to be owned in her ETF ($SPCE was held previously but was disposed in May 2021), this is the first Space SPAC of the 2021-2022 group that has been purchased for the fund.

• Many wondered when this would happen since $ARKX's March 2021 launch as it was largely questioned for owning positions in the company's other ETFs to Netflix.

• Currently, Rocket Lab only makes up 0.47% of the ETF, or the second smallest position, so it is nothing to get too excited about, but shows a welcomed change that investors have been looking and asking for with a 0.75% expense ratio.

• ARK's Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF ($ARKQ) also acquired 568,745 $RKLB shares worth $2.4M, or 0.25% of the fund.

2) John Deere (

$DE

) announced a request for proposals for satellite communications opportunity. 

• The company plans "to secure a cutting-edge solution that will further connect its fleet of intelligent machines ... to enhance the satellite connectivity that Deere is already delivering to its customers today, and is a critical step in the company's commitment to creating value for farmers around the world."

• "We believe SATCOM will unlock significant opportunities in agriculture by enabling farmers to take advantage of innovative technologies that rely on real-time information and communication," said Lane Arthur, VP of Data, Applications and Analytics.

3) Momentus ($MNTS) launched a three-year, $50M at-the-market (ATM) equity program.

• The equity distribution agreement allows the company to offer and sell Class A common stock that would result in aggregate gross proceeds of up to $50M.

  • The shares will be offered through Stifel, Nicolaus & Company.

• Momentus plans to use the proceeds for the continued development and future enhancements of the Vigoride orbital service vehicle and general corporate purposes like working capital, CapEx, repayment / refinancing of debt, R&D, acquisitions, or technologies and investments.

🛰️ In Other News

PlanetWatchers Raises $11M Series A Round 

(Company)

The capital will help the startup invest in SAR-based data analytics and expand the team to address the increasing market demand to help solve global food security issues. Seraphim Space Investment Trust ($SSIT) and Creative Ventures co-led the round.

📊 Chart of the Week

September is in the books and it wasn't a pretty month for equities across the board. All but two space SPACs finished lower, led by Terran Orbital ($LLAP) at -57%. Planet ($PL) was the outperformer, trading +8% higher.

🔗 Links

• NASA’s DART Spacecraft Slams Into Asteroid in Effort to Alter Its Orbit• AAC Clyde Space ($ACCMF) Receives Royalties of 0.5M Relating to Its Power Systems• Spire ($SPIR) Awarded $4M NOAA Contract• BlackSky ($BKSY) Customer Skytec Demonstrates Seamless Integration of Data Through Esri ArcGIS Online• Astra ($ASTR) Provides LV0010 Launch Investigation Update• Satellogic ($SATL) Announces Exclusive Agreement With GREEN+ Jurisdictional Programme To Monitor All Subnational Protected Areas on the Planet• Spire ($SPIR) Awarded NRO Contract for Radio Frequency Data• Satellogic ($SATL) Signs Three Year Agreement With Government of Albania for Dedicated Satellite Constellation• ViaSat-3 ($VSAT) Achieves Flight Configuration• Astra ($ASTR) Appoints New CFO Effective November 2022

🗣️ Opinion

• Rocket Lab ($RKLB): Undervalued & Going To The Moon• Space For (Mostly) All• Planet Labs ($PL): Growth Story Remains Intact

📅 Earnings Calendar

• $NOC: October 27 - Before Market Open• $IRDM: October 20 - Before Market Open

*Company confirmed dates only.