Firefly Aerospace Inc. ( FLY ) shares are moving up on Monday. Reports remain mixed as the broader market experiences significant volatility. However, the space technology firm continues to benefit from multiple positive catalysts.

The Nasdaq is down 0.65% while the S&P 500 has shed 0.15%.

• Firefly Aerospace ( FLY ) stock is among today’s top performers. Why are FLY shares rallying?

Earnings Top Expectations

Firefly reported its first-quarter earnings after the market close on May 4. First-quarter revenue hit $80.88 million. This figure beat the consensus estimate of $77.07 million.

The space and defense company posted an adjusted loss of 46 cents per share. This performance topped analyst expectations for a loss of 48 cents per share.

Management credited the revenue boost to its Blue Ghost lunar lander and Electra spacecraft programs.

Strong Backlog Drives Visibility

The company ended the quarter with a massive backlog of roughly $1.3 billion. This provides solid long-term visibility for the firm.

However, ongoing investments in growth and innovation kept profitability under pressure. Firefly reported an adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) loss of $64.7 million for the quarter.

Free cash flow remained negative at $78.9 million due to infrastructure spending.

Strategic Commercial Partnerships

During the quarter, Firefly teamed up with NVIDIA Corp. ( NVDA ) . The collaboration enables rapid, on-orbit data processing for the Ocula Moon imaging service.

The partnership integrates an Nvidia Jetson module into high-resolution telescopes developed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. These will deploy on Firefly's Elytra orbital vehicle.

Defending National Security Contracts

On Monday, Firefly announced that its subsidiary, SciTec, secured a new Air Force Research Laboratory contract. The contract supports the Advanced Algorithm research and development and Verification Architecture.

Critical Technical Levels for FLY Stock to Watch

From a trend perspective, the stock is extended but still technically constructive: it's trading 16.4% above its 20-day SMA ($37.09) and 33.9% above its 50-day SMA ($32.24).

Longer-term, price is also well above the 100-day SMA ($28.48) and 200-day SMA ($29.87).

April marked a recent swing high, and with the stock still down 28.88% over the last 12 months, some longer-term holders may also use strength to reduce exposure into overhead supply.

FLY Stock Price Activity: Firefly Aerospace ( FLY ) shares were up 6.13% at $42.91 at the time of publication on Monday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Firefly Aerospace-Photo by T. Schneider via Shutterstock