** Space and defense tech firm Firefly Aerospace FLY.O shares down 3.8% before the bell to $47.49 after $576 mln follow-on priced

** Cedar Park, Texas-based FLY late Thurs announced 12 mln shares at $48, a 2.8% discount to last sale

** FLY sold 4 mln shares and affiliates of AE Industrial Partners parted with 8 mln shares

** With the sale, AE's stake reduced to ~50.8 mln shares, or 31.7% of total outstanding, per the prospectus

** FLY intends to use net offering proceeds it receives for general corporate purposes, including to support business growth and recently awarded programs and initiatives

** Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Jefferies and Wells Fargo are lead bookrunners

** Through Thurs, FLY stock up 121% YTD including 43% surge this month

** 7 of 10 analysts rate the stock "strong buy" or "buy", 3 "hold"; median PT $37, according to LSEG data

** FLY went public in Aug 2025 IPO priced at $45