Space Tech Firm Firefly’s Stock Pops in Its Trading Debut

Shares of Firefly Aerospace (FLY), a space tech company that counts the government’s Space Force among its major clients, soared in their debut on the Nasdaq Thursday. 

The stock last traded hands around $65, up roughly 45% from its initial public offering price at $45 per share, which was above its expected range of $41 to $43, and had been revised up from an initial $35 to $39. 

Firefly sold more than 19 million shares in the offering, raising roughly $868 million in proceeds. That would give it a market capitalization of over $9 billion, based on the number of shares outstanding listed in a regulatory filing. The company said it plans to use the proceeds in part to pay down debt. 

Firefly, which claims to be the first commercial firm to “achieve a fully successful soft-landing on the Moon” with its Blue Ghost lander in March, says Lockheed Martin (LMT), Northrop Grumman (NOC), and L3Harris (LHX) are also among its high-profile clientele, along with the government’s Space Force. 

The space tech company posted first-quarter revenue of $55.9 million, more than six times its sales in the same period a year earlier and nearly as much as it reported in all of 2024 at $60.8 million, according to its prospectus filing. However, it has yet to turn a profit, with a first-quarter net loss of $60.1 million.

Firefly’s launch comes after a series of strong IPOs this year, including those of design software maker Figma (FIG) last week, and stablecoin issuer Circle’s (CRCL) in June.