Rocket Lab USA Inc. (NASDAQ:RKLB) stock is trading lower Thursday morning as sector-wide headwinds pressure space equities.Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Rocket Lab on Thursday, issuing a Neutral rating and establishing a price forecast of $83.The Nasdaq is down 0.83% while the S&P 500 has shed 0.24%.Sector Dilution and Debt PressuresArchimedes Engine MilestoneIridium Deal and Market RivalryRocket Lab continues to execute its expansion strategy, including a proposed $8 billion acquisition of Iridium Communications Inc.Reuters reported the transaction is intended to align Rocket Lab with the vertically integrated model of Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX).Technical AnalysisFrom a trend perspective, the stock is trading 21.8% below its 20-day SMA ($89.32) and 34.6% below its 50-day SMA ($106.75), which is the kind of spacing that typically keeps rallies "sellable" until price can reclaim at least one of those averages. It’s also 9.7% below the 200-day SMA ($77.33), so the longer-term trend line is now overhead and acting like a ceiling.That lines up with the bearish 20-day/50-day moving-average relationship, even though the 50-day SMA remains above the 200-day SMA—an important reminder that the bigger-picture trend only recently started to weaken.Key levels are fairly tight for near-term decision-making: