EchoStar jumps on SpaceX IPO talk, Morgan Stanley upgrade

Shares of EchoStar (SATS) jumped on Tuesday and are trading up again today as it was reported that SpaceX is moving ahead with plans for an initial public offering next year. Elon Musk’s rocket company is said to be seeking to raise “significantly more” than $30B at a valuation of about $1.5T. This morning, Morgan Stanley upgraded EchoStar to Overweight, saying it believes the company is benefiting from rising competitive intensity as a seller of spectrum.

2026 IPO: Elon Musk’s SpaceX is moving ahead with plans for an initial public offering that would seek to raise “significantly more” than $30B at a valuation of about $1.5T, which would make it the biggest listing of all time, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg’s Ed Ludlow and Eric Johnson. SpaceX’s management and advisers are pursuing a listing as soon as mid-to-late 2026, but the timing of the IPO could change based on market conditions and other factors, and one of the people said the timing could slip until 2027, the report noted. Other publicly traded companies involved in space launch systems and services include FireFly Aerospace (FLY), Rocket Lab (RKLB), Intuitive Machines (LUNR), Boeing (BA), AST SpaceMobile (ASTS), Virgin Galactic (SPCE), Lockheed Martin (LMT), Northrop Grumman (NOC), and L3Harris Technologies (LHX).

Back on December 5, The Wall Street Journal’s Berber Jin and Corrie Driebusch reported that SpaceX was kicking off a secondary share sale that would value the rocket-maker at $800B, citing people familiar with the matter. The $800B valuation is double the $400B value it fetched in a recent secondary share sale, the authors note.

RISING COMPETITIVE INTENSITY: Morgan Stanley upgraded EchoStar to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $110, up from $82. The company says the company is benefiting from rising competitive intensity as a seller of spectrum. The upgrade reflects EchoStar’s opportunity to unlock value through tax-efficient spectrum sales, the firm adds.

Morgan Stanley notes that it raised its price target for EchoStar shares to $110 based on increased value associated with announced spectrum sales to AT&T (T) and SpaceX. It also raised its estimate for the value EchoStar will capture with its remaining AWS-3 spectrum licenses from $1.50 to $2.50 as it expects both Verizon (VZ) and T-Mobile (TMUS) to be interested in this spectrum for their networks. Discussing a bull case for EchoStar, the firm says it also believes there may be opportunities for the company to shield a portion of its considerable tax liability from these sales. EchoStar is receiving SpaceX shares at $212 per SpaceX share. Therefore, every $100 of SpaceX share price equals $18/share or 20% to EchoStar equity. “The WSJ reported that SpaceX is launching a secondary sale valuing the company at $800bn, although the CEO denied that was the case. At that valuation, our bull case would move to $150,” the firm added.

Of note, EchoStar announced back in November that it had entered into an amended definitive agreement with SpaceX to sell the company’s unpaired AWS-3 licenses for approximately $2.6B in SpaceX stock valued as of September 2025. This transaction builds on the agreement the companies entered into in September. Closing of the proposed transaction will occur after all required regulatory approvals are received and other closing conditions are satisfied. Current operations of EchoStar’s DISH TV, Sling TV, Boost Mobile and Hughes will not be impacted by this transaction.

PRICE ACTION: Shares of EchoStar have gained almost 6% on Wednesday morning, trading to $98.81 per share.