Retail investors and institutions alike can shake on their mutual adoration of space stocks. This year, names like Rocket Lab  (RKLB) , Planet Labs  (PL)  and BlackSky  (BKSY)  have soared 858%, 212% and 137% over the last year, respectively. And even newcomers Karman Holdings (KRMN) and Voyager Technologies (VOYG) nearly doubled in their February and June IPOs.

With returns like that, it’s no wonder companies aiming at the final frontier are angling to plant their flag on Wall Street. And Thursday, market newcomer Firefly Aerospace (FLY) is poised to do exactly that as it IPOs.

The firm sought a $6.3 billion valuation in its market debut, based on the top-of-the-range price that the company settled on earlier this week. The upsized IPO raised $868 million.

However, in an indication of the still-strong demand for space stocks, the company opened much higher. Instead of the the $45 per share offering price, the company opened at about $70. At that price, the company would be valued closer to $10 billion.

What Is Firefly?

Firefly has generated most of its revenues from its Blue Ghost lunar lander, which became the first commercial lunar lander to land on the Moon in Mar. 2025. The company recently scored a new $179 million agreement with NASA for a 2028 mission. 

This puts the company apart from SpaceX and Rocket Lab. However, its real promise is in one day competing with them. At the end of Q1 2025, its customer backlog surpassed $1.1 billion, doubling from last year, as it scored partnerships with key defense contractors for missions.

At the moment, the company has at least 25 launches lined up with Lockheed Martin  (LMT)  and an agreement to help Northrop Grumman  (NOC)  retrofit American engines onto their decades-old Antares rocket. It also has deals with the Pentagon and the U.S. Space Force, among others.

Is Firefly a Safe Bet?

While Firefly’s year-over-year revenue rose over 6x to $55.9 million, its net loss widened year-over-year to $60.1 million. That means that Firefly still isn’t making money, and it might be awhile before it does.

That hasn’t been an object for other spacefaring competition so far, but there are many tombstones for one-time space listings that soared onto market, only to face the punishing one-two blow of less market speculation and higher interest rates in 2021 and 2022.

Further, investors should be a little wary of the company’s cap table. Closely-held by a private equity group, the firm’s S-1 filing warns that the business will remain a “controlled company.” That could make it resistant to changes, shareholder input or other factors.

But for those willing to put aside the company’s ownership concentration, its cap table is still something of a spectacle. Earlier this year, key partners such as Lockheed Martin, L3Harris  (LHX)  and Northrop Grumman invested $50 million in the company.