SpaceX shares jumped in their second day of trading, adding to gains following a blockbuster debut that instantly vaulted it into the ranks of the world’s most valuable public companies.
The stock climbed 20%, extending Friday’s 19% rally, to add $412 billion in market value. Shares closed at $192.46 on Monday, more than 42% above their $135 IPO price. The move boosts the company’s market value to more than $2.5 trillion, putting it among the top six largest companies in the world.
At its current market capitalization, it’s less than $135 billion away from overtaking Amazon.com Inc., which boasts a nearly $2.7-trillion value.
SpaceX has exercised the IPO’s over-allotment option, which lets underwriters sell an additional 83.3 million shares, according to a statement Monday. The so-called greenshoe increases the amount raised to $86.2 billion, or $85.7 billion after subtracting the $500 million of underwriting expenses listed in the prospectus.
A solid first-day performance for SpaceX assuaged fears about the market’s ability to absorb such a large IPO, helping pave the way for the potential IPOs from Anthropic PBC and OpenAI, large competitors that could go public as soon as this year. It helped bolster confidence in the artificial intelligence rally that’s driven most of the market’s gains this year.
“We’re not surprised to see that there’s initial demand,” said Max Gokhman, senior vice president at Franklin Templeton Investment Solutions. “There’s been so many investors, especially retail investors on the sidelines, who couldn’t get access.”
Retail traders bought as much SpaceX stock over its first two days of trading as they did across the entire U.S. stock market last week, according to data from Vanda Research. Monday marked the first full trading session for the stock formally known as Space Exploration Technologies Corp., as shares opened a few minutes before noon on Friday in New York, meaning it traded for just over four hours before the market’s close.
The IPO made founder Elon Musk the world’s first trillionaire, with a net worth that is more than three times that of the world’s second-richest person, Google co-founder Larry Page.
Following the steady launch, investors are turning attention back to the broader geopolitical and macro backdrop after the U.S. and Iran said they agreed to a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz this week, sending the S&P 500 Index up 1.7% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 up more than 3%. In addition, this week will feature Wednesday’s Federal Reserve meeting, followed by the first news conference for the central bank’s new chairman, Kevin Warsh.
“The macro backdrop appears to be moving in a direction that is becoming more favorable, that could incentivize investors to continue to go out on the risk spectrum,” said Angelo Kourkafas, senior global investment strategist at Edward Jones.
“Potentially the opportunity set is broadening now with yields falling, some of the concerns around the Fed potentially easing a little bit. That may encourage investors to look at parts of the market that have that catch-up potential and a lower bar that they can clear.”
To be sure, market watchers are anticipating volatility in SpaceX stock and potential pressure to the downside as shares currently in lockup after the IPO become available to trade in the coming months.
“What I think is going to be interesting is when that booster rocket of retail demand falls off, what happens when they start hitting the gravity of institutional investors and employees post-lockup starting to sell?” Gokhman said. “That’s really where that marginal buyer becomes increasingly important because now you’re increasing the float.”
Options contracts on SpaceX will begin trading on Tuesday, on exchanges including Cboe Global Markts and Nasdaq Inc. Other options exchanges, including those owned by Intercontinental Exchange Inc.’s NYSE and Miami International Holdings Inc., are also expected to list early next week.
Reinicke and Patnaik write for Bloomberg. Demetrios Pogkas and Jennah Haque contributed to this report.
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