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Investing.com -- Race to build scale in the commercial and national security space markets has made a divide between companies that are able to integrate acquisitions and those struggling to manage larger portfolios, according to a Bank of America.
Rocket Lab, Intuitive Machines and Redwire are moving through major integrations that are emerging as early tests of who benefits from the consolidation wave.
Rocket Lab is one of the strongest positioned. The firm is using its liquidity, now above $1 billion, to add payload and space systems capabilities after closing Geost and moving toward completion of the Mynaric deal.
Bofa said Rocket Lab’s push toward end to end integration is becoming a competitive advantage, with Electron launch demand lifting backlog and margins improving. Analyst raised its price target on the stock to $60, saying scale is helping it capture rising government and commercial work even as the Neutron rocket slips to 2026.
Intuitive Machines plans to acquire Lanteris, the former Maxar space infrastructure unit. This adds established satellite manufacturing and national security exposure ahead of expected Golden Dome opportunities. But the deal increases operational risk, BofA said as Lanteris is roughly three times the size of Intuitive Machines on revenue.
The broker said investors may wait for proof of smooth integration, noting competition with existing Lanteris customers and slower growth versus the legacy business. It reiterated an Underperform rating and raised its price target to $9.50.
Redwire remains at the weaker end of the consolidation trend. The company posted another quarter of execution problems following its Edge Autonomy acquisition, including $8.3mn of cost overruns and softer than expected revenue.
Bank of America said the company continues to lack visibility on programs and faces added pressure from a new $250mn share sale plan. It cut its price target to $6 and said portfolio headwinds could continue into 2026.
Bank of America said the consolidation wave is likely to continue, with scale becoming increasingly central to winning national security contracts and providing reliable launch and payload integration. The brokerage said emerging leaders are those with balance sheets large enough to acquire capabilities and the discipline to combine them effectively.