BlackRock Bets Big on SpaceX
BlackRock invested $882 million in SpaceX shares following the company's blockbuster IPO
SpaceX has enjoyed a highly successful stock market debut, and one of its largest institutional backers turned out to be BlackRock. The asset management giant purchased approximately $882 million worth of SpaceX shares through several exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
The largest investment came from the iShares AI Innovation and Tech Active ETF, which acquired more than $451 million worth of SpaceX stock. Additional purchases were made by the iShares U.S. Equity Factor Rotation Active ETF, which accumulated shares valued at nearly $258 million.
Other funds joining the list of SpaceX investors included the iShares Defense Industrials Active ETF, which invested close to $67.8 million, and the iShares U.S. Thematic Rotation Active ETF, which allocated around $47.1 million to the company.
Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas highlighted the remarkably rapid influx of ETF investments into SpaceX. In a post on X, he noted that as recently as Friday morning, only four ETFs held SpaceX shares. Following the company's market debut, that number surged to 40.
According to Balchunas, this trend reflects how dramatically the ETF landscape has evolved. Actively managed funds are playing an increasingly important role, allowing managers to react quickly to major new listings. He compared SpaceX's debut to those of Meta Platforms and Alibaba, whose shares were added to ETF portfolios at a much slower pace.
Investor enthusiasm was fueled by SpaceX's record-breaking initial public offering. The company sold 556.5 million SPCX shares at $135 each, raising approximately $75 billion. Before trading began, SpaceX was valued at around $1.77 trillion.
On its first trading day, SPCX shares opened at $172 and closed at $160.95. Although the stock finished below its opening price, it still represented a gain of nearly 20% compared to the IPO price. In after-hours trading, the shares climbed by an additional 3%.
Alongside BlackRock, ARK Invest, led by Cathie Wood, also made a substantial commitment to SpaceX, investing approximately $530 million in SPCX shares.
