Space stocks are suddenly back in favor, and Momentus (MNTS) is one of the names catching the lift. The trigger is the same one pushing other small space names higher: growing excitement around SpaceX’s planned initial public offering (IPO) and a new wave of attention on the broader space economy. SpaceX is reportedly targeting a valuation around $1.75 trillion, and the buzz has helped send space-related stocks sharply higher this past week.
Momentus joined the move with a huge rally on May 26. Investors are treating the SpaceX IPO like a rising tide for the entire industry, especially smaller public companies tied to launches, satellites, and orbital services.
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Momentus Is Riding a Massive Trend
Momentus is a tiny commercial space company, but it does not try to do everything. The firm focuses on satellite buses, hosted payloads, in-space transportation, and “last-mile” delivery services through its Vigoride orbital service vehicle. Put simply, it helps move customer payloads around in space after launch, and it also works on government and commercial missions. That gives the company a niche role in a market that is suddenly getting much more attention.
MNTS stock has been wild. On May 26, shares closed at $15.48 — up almost 110% in a single session — and then traded as high as $18.90 after hours. The next day, it touched a high of $22.20, but shares have since settled back down near the $17 level. Currently, Barchart shows a market capitalization of $204 million and a 52-week range of $3.11 to $43.55, which tells you just how fast this name can move.
More importantly, MNTS stock is up 246% year-to-date (YTD) in 2026, despite a very rough stretch over the last year. The rally has been driven by SpaceX hype, broad sector momentum, and the kind of speculative trading that often shows up in small, thinly traded stocks.
From a valuation standpoint, Momentus looks expensive. With $204 million in market value and roughly $4 million in trailing revenue, the stock trades at roughly 51 times sales. That is a big number for any company, but especially for one in aerospace and defense, where the sector median price-to-sales (P/S) ratio is closer to 3 times.
www.barchart.com SpaceX IPO Fever Is Lifting the Entire Space Sector
The SpaceX story is doing a lot of the heavy lifting here. SpaceX’s IPO filing has become one of the biggest market stories of the month, and investors are treating it like a rising tide for the entire space sector. That is especially true for smaller public names that give investors an easier way to play the trend.
Momentus fits that mold. It is not SpaceX, and it is not even close in scale, but it does operate in the same broader ecosystem. As investors look for public ways to benefit from more launches, more payloads, and more orbital activity, stocks like MNTS can catch a fast speculative bid.
The Latest Quarter Showed Progress, But Losses Remain Heavy
Momentus delivered a better revenue quarter in the first quarter of 2026. Revenue climbed to $3.21 million from just $322,000 a year ago. The increase came mainly from hosted payload services and engineering projects tied to customer missions.
Hosted payload services generated $1.62 million, while engineering project work contributed another $1.59 million. Gross profit improved to $1.82 million, showing that the company is starting to generate more meaningful business activity.
But profitability remains a challenge. Net loss widened to $9.48 million from $6.17 million a year earlier as Momentus continued spending on operations and development. Adjusted earnings also remained negative, although diluted EPS improved sharply year-over-year (YOY) due partly to share-count changes.
Cash burn is still something investors need to watch. The company used $5.8 million in operating cash during the quarter. At the same time, Momentus ended March with $23.48 million in cash and cash equivalents, which later improved to $26.2 million after financing activity in April.
Management also highlighted operational milestones during the quarter. Momentus launched Vigoride 7 aboard a recent SpaceX Transporter mission carrying 10 customer payloads. The company also completed the Preliminary Design Review for Vigoride 8, which is already fully booked for a planned 2027 mission.
CEO John Rood said the company remains focused on execution, customer delivery, and long-term growth opportunities in the expanding commercial space market.
Analysts Still See a Highly Speculative Story
Analyst coverage on Momentus remains very limited, which makes MNTS stock even more volatile. Some data providers currently show only one active analyst covering the company. This analyst has a price target of $1, while the stock currently trades for nearly $17 per share, so the difference is evident.
The bigger issue is that analysts still view Momentus as a speculative company rather than a stable business. Bulls see a potential long-term winner tied to the commercial space economy. Bears see a company with small revenue, ongoing losses, and a valuation that already prices in a lot of optimism.
Right now, the SpaceX IPO excitement is helping push MNTS stock higher. The question is whether Momentus can eventually turn that excitement into a sustainable business.
www.barchart.com On the date of publication, Nauman Khan did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
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