Why Is Planet Labs Stock Surging on Tuesday?

Planet Labs (NYSE:PL) stock moved higher on Tuesday. The move does not appear tied to a single new announcement. It follows the company’s satellite launch on Thursday and comments from CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Monday. Nasdaq futures are up 0.51% while S&P 500 futures have gained 0.40%.

Cramer said Monday that Planet Labs is a “terrific” company and praised CEO Will Marshall. “I think you should buy it. I think it’s done going down,” he said.

Planet Labs Launches 20 Satellites

Planet Labs announced the successful launch of 20 satellites, including a prototype developed with Google. The satellites flew on Space Exploration Technologies Corp.’s (NASDAQ:SPCX) Transporter-18 rideshare mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

Google Project Suncatcher

The prototype is the first demonstration satellite for Project Suncatcher, developed by Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL). It will test Google’s Tensor Processing Units, or TPUs, in space.

Planet developed the Tanager-2 hyperspectral satellite with Carbon Mapper. It collects imagery across 426 spectral bands and supports methane detection, rare-earth element identification, water-quality monitoring and agricultural analysis.

Technical Analysis

From a trend perspective, Planet Labs is still trying to stabilize after a longer drawdown: it’s trading about 34% below its 200-day SMA ($27.34) and about 32% below its 100-day SMA ($26.52), which keeps the bigger-picture bias cautious. The "death cross" that formed in August (50-day SMA falling below the 200-day SMA) reinforces that the longer-term trend has been pointed down.

In the nearer term, the stock is showing a split personality—about 8% above its 20-day SMA ($16.79) but about 8% below its 50-day SMA ($19.75). That setup often turns the 50-day area into overhead supply, meaning rallies can struggle until price can reclaim that zone and hold it.

RSI is the cleaner momentum read right now: at 47.27, it’s in neutral territory, suggesting the stock isn’t stretched and is still deciding between a bounce attempt and another rollover.

Key levels are tight enough that traders may treat them as decision points into the open:

• Key Resistance: $18 — a round-number pivot area that can cap rebounds if sellers defend it
• Key Support: $15.50 — a nearby floor where buyers previously stepped in, making it a practical downside reference

PL Stock Price Activity: Planet Labs shares are trading higher by 5.13% at $18.25 at the time of publication on Tuesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Over the past 12 months, the stock has gained 19.8%, outpacing the S&P 500’s 16.3% gain.

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