Urthecast spikes after signing $65-million contract

Shares of Urthecast (Urthecast Stock Quote, Chart, News: TSX:UR) are up today after the company announced it has inked a $65-million previously announced contract with an unnamed customer.

The company says the contract, which will entail Urthecast providing earth imagery data and engineering and “value-added” services, includes a payment of 20% of the value of contract upfront.

“The signing of this contract is a great accomplishment for the UrtheCast team, and a testament to the quality of work we continue to achieve,” said CEO Scott Larson. “We’re looking forward to beginning work on what we expect will be remarkable, innovative services.”

In October, Clarus Securities analyst Eyal Ofir reiterated his “Speculative Buy” rating and one year target of $5.50 on Urthecast, which implied a return of 370% at the time of publication. Ofir noted that management expected a forthcoming $65-million contract would have margins of between 85-90%.

An early entry in the Earth Observation market, Vancouver-based Urthcast aims to deliver a near realtime stream of Earth in Ultra-HD through cameras placed on the International Space Station. The company expects to target defense and government agencies, but also broader commercial markets such as the news media, agriculture and environmental monitoring.

At press time, shares of Urthcast were up 19.4% to $1.60.