Wedbush initiated coverage of SpaceX (SPCX) with an Outperform rating and a $190 price target. The firm called SpaceX an artificial intelligence infrastructure play, not a traditional space business.
Wedbush’s Global Head of Tech Research, Dan Ives, made the case on CNBC’s Fast Money. He argued SpaceX’s AI compute business could make it one of the market’s top long-term hyperscaler bets.
Ives Builds His SpaceX Bull Case
The $190 target implies about an 11% upside from SPCX’s close on Tuesday at $170.86. Wedbush values SpaceX with a sum of the parts model. AI compute forms a major piece of that long-term thesis.
“It’s much more of an AI play, and that’s our whole view from a data perspective.”
Dan Ives, CNBC
Ives admitted the stock looks expensive against current revenue. He said execution over the next two to three years could make SpaceX one of the market’s best AI plays.
SpaceX is heading toward Nasdaq 100 inclusion. Shares recently tested a critical support level after the company’s record IPO. A later bond sale prompted some bubble warnings.
Starlink Still Anchors the SpaceX Bull Case
Starlink remains SpaceX’s real engine. The satellite broadband unit brought in roughly $11.4 billion in revenue last year, about 61% of the company’s total, and turned a solid operating profit even as SpaceX posted a net loss overall.
Wedbush’s $190 target leans heavily on Starlink’s recurring subscriber revenue and expanding margins, with the launch business and the newer AI unit layered on top.
Launch is the strategic moat, not the profit driver. Falcon 9 dominates the global launch market, and Starship aims to cut costs further by carrying more satellites per flight. But the segment brings in far less revenue than Starlink, and most of its launches simply deploy SpaceX’s own satellites rather than generate outside sales.
That breakdown is why investors are watching Starlink’s subscriber growth and margins so closely. If that business keeps scaling, it can carry a large share of SpaceX’s valuation on its own, with AI infrastructure adding upside rather than shouldering the entire bull case.
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