Space stocks are having a moment heading into 2026, powered by whispers of a potential SpaceX IPO and fresh policy support from President Donald Trump. And if you're wondering which companies might actually benefit from Elon Musk's rocket giant going public, Andrew Chanin has some ideas.

Chanin runs Procure Holdings, which manages The Procure Space ETF (UFO)—yes, that's the actual ticker—which focuses exclusively on pure-play space companies. He told MarketDash that investors are likely to start hunting for undervalued space stocks as the SpaceX IPO buzz builds.

"We've seen opportunities for those willing investors that go and look at these companies," Chanin said. A SpaceX IPO, he believes, could "definitely pose a potential benefit for this industry."

The Company That Already Owns SpaceX Stock

Here's where it gets interesting. EchoStar Corporation (SATS) actually holds private shares of SpaceX, acquired through a recent deal involving the company's spectrum assets. That makes EchoStar a potential proxy play for investors who want SpaceX exposure before any public offering.

"I think people might start to price a company like EchoStar, looking at that position and using any range of values," Chanin explained.

The timing matters because EchoStar snagged that SpaceX equity at a valuation below the current $800 billion mark—and well below the $1.5 trillion valuation being floated for a potential IPO. Do the math on that spread and you can see why investors might start reassessing EchoStar's value.

"People might start plugging a value of what this position would be, and as part of the calculation for what the value of EchoStar is or would be," Chanin said.

He noted that EchoStar's spectrum was previously valued at nearly nothing, with some investors thinking the company would have to return it to the government. Instead, management landed several multibillion-dollar deals, including the one that netted them private SpaceX stock. EchoStar represents the third-largest position in the Procure Space ETF at 4.8% of assets.

The SpaceX Competitor Worth Watching

Rocket Lab Corporation (RKLB) is another name Chanin highlighted. It's actually the top holding in his ETF at 5.4% of assets, which tells you something about his conviction.

"Rocket Lab does have some competing business with SpaceX," Chanin acknowledged. But the company isn't just focused on launch anymore—it's expanding into satellites and manufacturing, which diversifies its revenue potential.

Here's the counterintuitive part: SpaceX going public might actually help Rocket Lab. "SpaceX being in the public market would give a better kind of peer analysis that people could do when there's more information available," Chanin said. More transparency from SpaceX means better benchmarking for investors trying to value its competitors.

The Misunderstood Play

Chanin also singled out AST SpaceMobile Inc (ASTS) as a company that may be "completely misunderstood" by investors and could benefit from increased attention on the space sector.

The numbers back up his point about market misunderstanding. AST SpaceMobile was trading at $2.50 just a year and a half ago, then rocketed over 1,000% following several announcements that gave investors better visibility into the company's business model. It's now the seventh-largest holding in the Procure Space ETF at 4.3% of assets.

The Recent IPOs Nobody Noticed

While everyone waits for SpaceX, a couple of space companies actually went public in 2025—though they're "far from household names," as Chanin put it.

Firefly Aerospace (FLY) and Voyager Technologies (VOYG) completed IPOs in August and June, respectively. "Firefly did come out with a little bit more fanfare than Voyager," Chanin noted.

He's particularly intrigued by Voyager founder Dylan Taylor. "Is he the next Elon Musk?" Chanin wondered. "I don't know, but he does have a really strong vision and passion and I wouldn't be shocked if it's a misunderstood company because they're involved in so many different areas."

The key point: a SpaceX IPO could create "more fanfare" for these recent public offerings, drawing investor attention to companies they might have missed the first time around.

"People might be overlooking these companies and most people probably don't know about what these companies are, what they do, who runs them, what their visions are for the future, and how they play into the broader overall space race," Chanin said.

In other words, if SpaceX goes public, it won't just be about one big IPO. It could lift the entire sector as investors start digging into the space economy and discovering companies they never knew existed.