SpaceX (SPCX) stock is trading near $150 as Space Exploration Technologies Corp. heads into one of the biggest tests in the company's history. Starship's 14th flight is scheduled for Monday, September 28, and the mission will mark the vehicle's first orbital launch attempt. It will also be the first time Starship deploys satellites, with 26 Starlink V3 units set to ride along. For investors, the stakes reach beyond the technical: the orbital and payload capabilities on display Monday are the same ones analysts lean on when arguing for the stock's long-term value, from the launch business itself to the satellite network behind its connectivity revenue.

The countdown has been building for days. On Thursday, SpaceX ran a full wet dress rehearsal, walking through every step of launch-day operations without actually firing the engines.

Investors have been watching closely, but the stock has not exactly celebrated. SPCX shares are down about 3% over the last five trading sessions, weighed down by broader market jitters and concerns about the company's heavy spending. Still, the stock remains above its IPO price of $135, and it sits well below its June peak of $225.64, leaving room to debate where it goes from here.

Analysts Are Mostly Bullish

Wall Street has not lost its nerve. Mizuho analyst Brett Linzey reiterated a Buy rating with a $200 price target ahead of the launch. Linzey pointed to a new hosting deal starting December 1 that could bring in roughly $1.11 billion a month at the high end. In his view, the arrangement adds real visibility into demand for SpaceX's compute capacity.

Linzey also flagged a pricing framework that management laid out at a recent industry conference, targeting $30 to $50 per watt in 2027. He noted that current pricing is already near the top of that range.

Bernstein's Douglas Harned is even more optimistic, carrying a $248 target. He believes the valuation story hinges on Starship reusability, since that capability would unlock SpaceX's planned orbital data centers. SpaceX now expects to demonstrate second-stage reuse — flying the upper stage rather than discarding it — in the fourth quarter of 2026, and Harned sees that as a key milestone to watch.

Harned also expects the Connectivity business, which covers Starlink, to generate more than $100 billion in EBITDA by 2031. If the direct-to-device business — satellite service delivered straight to standard mobile phones — takes off as well, he sees even more upside, though he says that will depend on securing a solid mobile network partner.

Where the Stock Could Go Next

Not every bullish voice belongs to a bank analyst. Market commentator Shay Boloor recently compared SpaceX's trajectory to those of Amazon and Tesla. His argument: the market may be pricing SpaceX only on what it does today, not on what it could become. Amazon started as a bookseller before AWS reshaped the story, and Tesla was just a car company before energy and robotics entered the picture. Boloor believes launch services, Starlink, and AI could do the same for SpaceX over time. It is a thesis, not a guarantee, but it is gaining traction among traders.

Elon Musk has added fuel to the AI angle as well, saying SpaceX's AI efforts will compete with Fable and GPT--level performance within two to three months.

Overall, Wall Street's consensus rating sits at Moderate Buy, built on 26 Buy ratings, five Holds, and two Sells. The average price target of $232.07 implies about 56% upside from current levels. Morgan Stanley is the most aggressive of the group, setting a $300 target that is roughly double where the stock trades today. All eyes now turn to Monday's launch window, with the December 1 start of the new hosting deal and the targeted fourth-quarter 2026 second-stage reuse demonstration lined up as the next checkpoints on the calendar.

This article originally appeared on CoinCentral.