Planet Labs (PL) Stock Jumps 7% As Iran Conflict Drives Demand For Satellite Imagery

TLDR

• Planet Labs stock jumped 7.2% on Friday with no direct company announcement driving the move
• KeyBanc analyst Michael Leshock issued a note encouraging investors to buy defense stocks as the Iran conflict could extend to eight weeks
• Planet Labs has featured heavily in media coverage of the conflict, supplying satellite imagery throughout the week
• The company announced a 96-hour delay on new imagery of Gulf States to prevent adversarial actors from accessing real-time data
• DCF analysis puts the stock’s intrinsic value at $1.99 per share, compared to a recent price of $25.28

Planet Labs (PL) stock climbed 7.2% on Friday, March 6, with no formal announcement from the company to explain the move. No analyst upgrades or price target changes were issued either.

Planet Labs PBC, PL

The most likely driver? The ongoing conflict with Iran, and Planet Labs’ role in it.

KeyBanc analyst Michael Leshock published a note telling investors to consider buying defense-related stocks. He wrote that the Iran conflict could extend into a “boots on the ground” situation, meaning demand for military intelligence tools — including satellite imagery — could rise.

Planet Labs operates a constellation of roughly 200 Earth observation satellites, capable of multiple revisits per day. That makes it one of the most active providers of up-to-date imagery anywhere on the planet.

Throughout the week, media organizations used Planet Labs images to document damage from drone strikes on Iranian infrastructure, including command-and-control sites and ballistic missile launch platforms.

Planet Labs Delays Gulf State Imagery

On the same day the stock rose, Planet Labs announced it would impose a 96-hour delay on new satellite images taken over Gulf States affected by Iranian drone attacks.

The company said in a message to clients that this was a “temporary” step as part of its “commitment to responsible data practices and the safety of personnel on the ground.” It did not confirm whether the move came at the request of US authorities.

Images of Iran were not included in the delay. All new imagery over Gulf States and adjacent conflict zones will be held back before entering Planet Labs’ archive.

Planet had previously imposed a 30-day delay on imagery of Gaza.

Valuation Concerns Mount

Despite the stock’s strong run — up 23.9% year to date and more than 5x over the past year — valuation analysts are raising flags.

Planet Labs recently closed at $25.28. A DCF model using projected free cash flows through 2035 puts intrinsic value at just $1.99 per share, implying the stock may be overvalued by over 1,000%.

The stock trades at a P/S ratio of 30.53x, versus an industry average of 1.11x and a peer average of around 1.00x.

Bull case analysts put fair value at $33.00 per share, pointing to defense contracts, sovereign deals, and AI-enabled analytics as growth drivers. Bear case analysts set fair value at $11.31, arguing much of the upside is already priced in.

Planet Labs scores 0 out of 6 on Simply Wall St’s valuation checks.

The stock closed at $25.28 on March 7, with a 4.7% gain over the prior seven days and a 13.6% gain over the past 30 days.

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