OHB Gears Up for Nine-Month Update With Moon Studies Won and Mainz Test Stand Signed Off

A pair of bullish broker notes and a fresh clutch of contract wins have put OHB SE on the front foot ahead of its next set of financials, with Jefferies arguing the German space group is tracking toward its full-year targets on the back of a continued margin improvement.

Analyst Chloe Lemarie reaffirmed her buy rating and a price target of 280 euros on Thursday, according to dpa-AFX, just weeks before the company is due to report results for the first nine months of 2026 on 12 November, alongside a presentation to investors.

Berenberg had already staked out a more aggressive view, restating its own buy call on 27 October with a target of 358 euros. That assessment, per dpa-AFX, followed a sector roundtable focused on space sovereignty and resilience — themes that have moved to the centre of European defence and industrial policy.

A Test Stand Completed, a Lunar Study Awarded

On the operational side, OHB Digital Connect wrapped up the EU-backed Eu-BEST project on 22 October, having built and given final acceptance to a modular test stand for rocket engine trials at its Mainz site. Brussels contributed 4.96 million euros to the effort, which was coordinated by Eiffage Énergie Systèmes – Clemessy while SpaceDreams handled technical leadership on the system design.

The Mainz milestone was not the only piece of good news for the group's engineering arm. Three days earlier, on 19 October, the European Space Agency handed OHB System AG feasibility and preliminary design studies for OASIS, a planned lunar infrastructure programme — work that positions the subsidiary at the early stages of Europe's ambitions on the Moon.

Memoranda of Understanding Rather Than Firm Orders

Alongside the completed hardware and study contracts, OHB has been busy building alliances, though these remain at the exploratory stage. A memorandum of understanding signed with Japan's Astroscale Holdings a little over a week ago will see the two companies examine joint opportunities in space security, space situational awareness and in-orbit services. No specific projects or order volumes were disclosed, with OHB framing the agreement as a way to deepen industrial cooperation between Germany, the United Kingdom and Japan.

Satellite communications is the focus of a separate tie-up agreed around the same time with MediaMobil Communication. Under the deal, OHB is acquiring a 25% stake in MediaMobil through a capital increase, a move the companies said would strengthen OHB's capabilities in the satcom field. The purchase price was not made public.

With the nine-month figures now less than a fortnight away, investors will get their first hard read on whether the margin momentum Jefferies is banking on has actually materialised — and whether the Mainz test rig, the OASIS studies and the two partnerships translate into the kind of order intake that would justify the gap between the two brokers' targets.