MDA Space earns big price target raise at Desjardins

Desjardins Securities analyst Benoit Poirier says he has increased confidence in MDA Space (MDA Space Stock Quote, Chart, News, Analysts, Financials TSX:MDA) after hosting investors for a tour of the company’s Montreal facility and a meeting with its leadership team.

As reported by the Globe and Mail, Poirier maintained his “Buy” rating on MDA and raised his target price to $66.00 from $55.00, above the $62.51 average, saying the company’s current valuation does not properly reflect its competitive advantages.

“What a time to have one of the world’s largest and most advanced satellite facilities,” Poirier said. “The global space market is expected to grow from roughly US$636-billion in 2025 to US$1.8-trillion by 2035, while lower launch costs should help support the 40,000–50,000 satellite launches over 2025–34.”

Poirier said MDA’s five-year bidding pipeline has doubled to more than $40-billion, while rising global defence budgets and programs such as Golden Dome, Germany’s next-generation satellites, space situational awareness initiatives, Korea’s K-LEO opportunity and MDA’s SHIELD qualification support his positive view.

He said MDA’s Aurora platform is a key differentiator, citing its software-defined capabilities, digital beamforming, in-house ASIC chips, anti-jamming functionality and low estimated cost per sellable bit.

“With competitors unlikely to deliver comparable technology for a few years, MDA appears well-positioned to capture demand from nations seeking sovereign space infrastructure with urgency,” Poirier said.

He said the recent pullback in space stocks has created an attractive setup for MDA, supported by a clean balance sheet and the company’s ability to convert large constellation opportunities worth more than $1-billion.

“The tour reinforced our view that MDA is well positioned to capture the high-growth constellation cycle, given its differentiated technology and new manufacturing capacity,” Poirier said.

Poirier said MDA deserves to trade between established space and defence peers and newer space technology companies. His target is based on the average of three valuation methods: 38 times his 2027 EPS estimate, up from 32 times; 22 times his 2027 EBITDA estimate, up from 17.5 times; and a discounted cash flow value of $68.68.

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