Planet Labs (PL) stock ripped higher on Oct. 2 after the Earth-imaging company confirmed the successful deployment of 20 satellites into orbit via SpaceX’s (SPCX) Transporter-18 rideshare mission. The payload included 18 SuperDove optical imaging satellites, a hyperspectral Tanager-2 satellite, and a specialized artificial intelligence (AI) prototype satellite built in partnership with Alphabet (GOOG) (GOOGL).
Despite the surge, Planet Labs shares remain down more than 60% versus their year-to-date high.