Shares of SpaceX (SPCX) rose Monday, climbing to new highs after their record-breaking debut Friday — cementing the company as the beneficiary of the biggest initial public offering in history, raising $75 billion and instantly ranking among America's most valuable companies.
The Historic IPO: By the Numbers
The shares, which sold at $135, opened at $150, rose above $176, and ended Friday around $161 — a bit more than a 7% rise from the open price — after losing some steam to close the session. They climbed further Monday, finishing up roughly 20% at above $192, putting SpaceX's market value near $2.6 trillion — sixth-highest among U.S. companies. Musk, meanwhile, is now estimated to be a trillionaire on paper.
SpaceX, which collects rocket, connectivity, and AI businesses under one name, sold more than half a billion shares, raising some $75 billion. The action put SpaceX in the top tier of U.S. stocks by value — and ahead of Musk's other public business, Tesla (TSLA). The stock attracted heavy trading volume and significant retail investor interest from day one.
"It appears that traders 'bought the rumor' and are now 'selling the news' in non-SPCX names — maybe they were just using space stocks as proxies until SPCX began trading."
— Bespoke Investment Group analysts
What Happened to Other Space Stocks
The SpaceX debut created a striking rotation away from other space stocks. The Roundhill Space & Technology ETF (MARS) fell 8% on Friday. Virgin Galactic (SPCE) dropped more than 30%, while Rocket Lab (RKLB) was off more than 10%. Many of these names had run up significantly in anticipation of the SpaceX IPO, as investors used them as proxies to gain exposure to the space economy before SPCX began trading.
ARK Funds Lead Institutional Buying
Cathie Wood's Ark family of funds bought roughly 3.3 million shares across four funds on Friday — one of the most aggressive single-day institutional purchases of the year. The largest slug by percentage sits with the ARK Space & Defense Innovation ETF (ARKX), at nearly 7%, according to the firm's trade notifications. The ARK buying signals strong institutional conviction in the SpaceX story even at elevated valuations.
What's Next: OpenAI and Anthropic
Another theme to follow: when will the next big IPOs land? Two other major private companies have signaled plans to proceed with offerings — AI firms Anthropic and OpenAI. Both are widely expected to pursue public listings in the next 12 to 18 months, following SpaceX's template of a large, high-profile debut that immediately joins major indices.