🚀 ASTS Divests NanoAvionics

View this email in your browser

The Space Scoop

Week Ended 07.08.2022

Happy Friday! We hope our U.S. readers enjoyed the shortened holiday week. It was a quieter week on the news front but the Q2 earnings calendar has begun filling out. Lets dive in.

📈 Market Max-Q

S&P 500: 3,899.37 +1.9%NASDAQ: 11,635.32 +4.5%UFO: 20.51 +1.7%ROKT: 35.84 +0.8%ARKX: 13.82 +2.3%SSIT: 51.6 -3.1%LLAP: 5.22 +25.5%SPCE: 7.32 +16.6%RKLB: 4.25 +11.8%PL: 4.84 +10.3%1W return as of 4:00pm EDT.

🚀 Top Stories

1) AST SpaceMobile ($ASTS) announced it will sell its majority ownership stake in NanoAvionics to Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace.

• Kongsberg will now own a 77% stake, valuing the company at $68M. AST will generate $28M of net proceeds off their 51% stake with the transaction expected to close in Q3'22.

 2) Mynaric ($MYNA) added L3Harris ($LHX) as a strategic investor.

• The prime contractor will invest €11.2M to acquire 409,294 new bearer shares at €27.37 per share. Following the capital increase, L3Harris will own 7.2% of total shares.

 3) Virgin Galactic ($SPCE) selected Boeing's ($BA) Aurora Flight Services to build their new Motherships, the air launch carrier aircraft that carries the tourism spaceship to ~50,000ft.

• The subsidiary will deliver two vehicles, each of which is designed to fly up to 200 launches annually, and are expected to enter service in 2025. The outsourced manufacturing approach will improve speed to market and realize efficiencies.

🛰️ In Other News

Stellar Ventures Announces New $23M Fund 

(PR Newswire)

The California-based VC firm launched its first fund, SV Andromeda, which aims to invest and partner with early-stage mission driven space technology companies. The fund has previously invested in companies such as Xona Space Systems, Skyloom, SatelliteVu and Cosmic Shielding.

Vectrus and The Vertex Company Complete Business Combination 

(PR Newswire)

The two have become V2X Inc., a provider of critical mission solutions and support to defense clients globally. V2X now trades on the NYSE under the ticker symbol $VVX and will report earnings after market close on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. 

CFRA Research Initiates Coverage on Virgin Galactic 

(SeekingAlpha)

The independent research firm is out with a 'Sell' rating on $SPCE and a price target of $4.50 per share. The firm is negative on their estimated 2022 & 2023's loss per share figures and stated "Blue Origin has already begun commercial operations and offers tickets at a much lower cost compared to the $450k charged by Virgin per seat."

📊 Chart of the Week

With 2022 officially halfway over, it is now safe to tell you what you probably already knew.. every NewSpace stock is in the red. AST SpaceMobile ($ASTS) has outperformed its peers, down only -23.6% while laggard is Astra ($ASTR) down -80.8%. Here's to a bullish 2H'2022.

🔗 Links

• Virgin Orbit ($VORB) Successfully Launches ‘Straight Up’ Mission• Rocket Lab's ($RKLB) Moon Mission for NASA Successful• Terran Orbital’s ($LLAP) CAPSTONE Satellite Successfully Deployed Into Lunar Transfer Orbit• Northrop Grumman ($NOC) Selects Airbus ($EADSY) To Supply Satellite Buses for SDA• Rocket Lab ($RKLB) To Launch Responsive Space Missions for NRO• Aerojet Rocketdyne ($AJRD) Shareholders Elect New Board of Directors• Rocket Lab ($RKLB) Introduces Responsive Space Program• Interview with Aaron Burnett of Spaced Ventures

🗣️ Opinion

• The Great Space Reset• Spire ($SPIR): Battered Share Price Masks a Potentially Wonderful Business• Planet Labs ($PL): Wait Until Profitability Is in Sight• Planet Labs ($PL): Consolidating, Enjoys More Partnerships and Wins EOCL Contract• EchoStar ($SATS): Pricey Compared to Growth Potential but Not to Potential EPS• Maxar ($MAXR): Not for the Faint of Heart

📅 Earnings Calendar

• $LMT:  July 19 - Before Market Open• $IRDM:  July 26 - Before Market Open• $BA:  July 27 - Before Market Open• $GD:  July 27 - Before Market Open• $NOC:  July 28 - Before Market Open• $SPCE: August 4 - After Market Close• $RKLB: August 11 - After Market Close

*Company confirmed dates only.