What happened
Shares of space-based data, analytics, and services company Spire Global (SPIR +7.33%) shot to the moon on Tuesday, rising a solid 13% through 2:30 p.m. EDT today.
The catalyst for today's rise appears to be the promotion of an executive.
Image source: Getty Images.
So what
As Spire announced this morning, it has promoted Theresa Condor, currently executive vice president and general manager of the company's space services and Earth intelligence, to the position of chief operating officer. In her new role, Spire says Condor will oversee Spire's weather, aviation, Earth intelligence, and space services businesses worldwide, adding that "her experience makes her uniquely positioned to take on this role."
Now what
Investors might be getting excited about this because one of the divisions now falling under Condor's aegis is the weather division, which appointed a new vice president last month, Dr. Kevin Petty. He was most recently the head of science and forecasting at IBM's Weather Company, and even more recently signed up Australian rocket-launch provider Southern Launch as a customer of its weather service.
All of this suggests growth in this Spire division. Perhaps we'll learn more details on just how fast the weather section is growing -- and whether investors' optimism is justified -- when Spire reports its third-quarter earnings on Wednesday, Nov. 10.
