Why Rocket Lab Stock Sank 8% Today

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB) stock stumbled 8.2% through 11:30 a.m. ET Wednesday, giving back some of its mammoth 30% gain from Tuesday, a gain arising from investor enthusiasm over newly inaugurated President Trump's own excitement about using U.S. companies to send astronauts to Mars.

Why investors are selling Rocket Lab today

But why are investors selling Rocket Lab today? The answer may lie in an interview that Rocket Lab CEO Sir Peter Beck did on the Leading Indicator podcast last night.

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SPB caught up with Leading Indicator to talk through the big year ahead for Rocket Lab and the exciting future in store for the space industry as a whole.

Check out the full podcast: https://t.co/7zayprmjqs https://t.co/onIRXRpoAX

-- Rocket Lab (@RocketLab) January 21, 2025

In this interview, Beck described how Rocket Lab has positioned itself as an end-to-end space company building everything from satellite parts to entire satellites to the rockets that launch them into orbit, and also offering space services operating satellites after launch. He also described the incoming administration as "very pro space, very pro defense," and generally "good" for Rocket Lab's business prospects. Business-wise, Beck confirmed Rocket Lab's plans to launch Neutron on its first test flight by "the middle of the year," and previewed the company's long-awaited mission to search for life in the clouds of Venus.

Overall, it was a positive interview. One thing that may have unnerved investors, though, was the host's reminder that two of Rocket Lab's biggest rivals, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Blue Origin CEO Jeff Bezos are now seated just "feet away" from President Trump... with all the influence over space policy and space contracts that this may imply.

Is Rocket Lab stock a buy?

Admittedly, Beck demurred that "we don't think that's an issue." Other investors may not be so certain, though. With Rocket Lab's stock price up fivefold over the past year, and still unprofitable, it makes sense that momentum investors, at least, might think now is a good time to exit the stock and reenter once prices come back down to Earth.

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Rich Smith has positions in Rocket Lab USA. The Motley Fool recommends Rocket Lab USA. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.