Shares of Rocket Lab USA Inc. (RKLB) took a nosedive in premarket trading, dropping by 18.1%. This decline positions the stock as the top premarket decliner on major U.S. exchanges. Rocket Lab, a spacecraft and rocket builder, recently experienced a failed space flight launch. Over the past nine days, the stock has declined eight times, leading to an overall plunge of 22.8%. If the current trend holds, Rocket Lab is on track to open at its lowest price since May 15 during regular trading hours.
According to the company’s statement released late Thursday, the rocket had a successful first-stage burn and stage separation. However, an issue occurred around T+ 2 minutes and 30 seconds into the flight, resulting in the termination of the mission. The mission was intended for Capella Space, a U.S.-based provider of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery. Rocket Lab expressed deep apologies to their partners at Capella Space for the loss of the mission.
Despite this setback, Rocket Lab’s stock has seen a 10.0% decline over the past three months but has still managed a year-to-date increase of 33.7%. In comparison, the S&P 500 has gained 1.0% in the past three months and has advanced 16.0% this year.
