Here's What You Need to Know About SpaceX Investing & ETFs

Biggest Share Unlock Tests Investor Confidence

The next major test came Thursday, when 911.5 million shares became eligible for trading for the first time. That represented about 43% more shares than the 638.9 million shares offered in the company's June IPO.

Note that Elon Musk’s space technology company surged from its $135 IPO price to an intraday peak of $225.64 on June 16. Since then, the stock has lost more than half its value from that peak.

Moderate Institutional Interest

Norway’s $2.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund has disclosed a 0.05% stake in SpaceX, valued at more than $1.2 billion as of June 30. The disclosure marks the fund’s first reported exposure to SPCX. However, the investment is relatively small compared with the fund’s stakes in other mega-cap technology companies, as quoted on CNBC.

Meanwhile, ARK Investments’ Cathie Wood bought $36.9 million of SpaceX, representing about 316,963 shares, as quoted on Yahoo.

Retail Enthusiasm Cools But Holds Firm

Retail demand has also moderated since the IPO, but investors have remained net buyers. Retail investors purchased about $405 million of SpaceX shares during the first five trading sessions, compared with $103 million over the five sessions leading up to the company's earnings report (read: SpaceX Stock Loved by Retail Investors: ETFs in Focus).

Silver Linings in SpaceX Stock

The SpaceX investment underscores the growing appeal of the private space and technology company among large institutional investors. SpaceX has expanded beyond its traditional launch and satellite businesses, with its Starlink satellite internet operation and growing involvement in AI infrastructure adding to its long-term growth prospects.

AI Story Drives Long-Term Optimism

Vanda Research believes retail investors are looking beyond SpaceX's near-term financial results and focusing instead on its long-term AI ambitions, as mentioned on Yahoo Finance.

SpaceX is prioritizing long-term growth over near-term cash flow. Despite several risks, CEO Elon Musk projects that SpaceX could generate $1 trillion in annual revenue by 2030, a year earlier than its pre-IPO forecast.

Starlink Continues to Drive Growth

SpaceX's satellite internet business remained a bright spot during the quarter.

Starlink subscribers surpassed 12 million by the end of Q2, while the connectivity segment generated adjusted EBITDA of $2.60 billion, exceeding the analysts' estimate of $2.41 billion, per Yahoo Finance (read: SpaceX Beats Q2 Estimates, Shares Fall: ETFs in Focus).

Musk reiterated his long-term vision for the business, saying it is possible that Starlink could eventually provide the majority of the world's internet connectivity.

Upbeat Analysts’ View

Five out of 11 analysts raised the earnings estimates for the September quarter for SpaceX. Of the 35 recommendations deriving the current Average Broker rating, 22 are Strong Buy and two are Buy.

Based on short-term price targets offered by 31 analysts, the average price target for SpaceX comes to $223.61. The forecasts range from a low of $75.00 to a high of $800.00. The average price target represents an increase of 61.17% from the closing price of $138.74 recorded on Aug. 10, 2026.

Bull ETFs in Focus

Baron First Principles ETF RONB, Roundhill Space & Technology ETF MARS , VanEck Space ETF (WARP), VanEck Space ETF ORBX, VegaShares SpaceX & Beyond Earth ETF XSPC and WisdomTree Space Economy Fund WSPC are the exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that invest in SpaceX to a significant extent.

Major leveraged SpaceX ETFs include the Direxion Daily SpaceX Bull & Bear 2X ETF (LOFF, ProShares Ultra SpaceX SPCF, and T-REX 2X Long SpaceX Daily Target ETF SPAX.

Any Wall of Worry?

Despite the strong weekly performance, SpaceX still faces eight additional share-unlock tranches over the coming months. The first and largest hurdle has now passed, but the stock's ability to sustain its recovery will depend on whether the company can continue delivering strong financial results while absorbing the additional share supply.

SpaceX reported a massive surge in capex reaching $18.4 billion in Q2 of 2026. This weighed on the stock, following the earnings report. If shares come under pressure due to heavy expenses and additional share unlocks, investors can tap inverse SpaceX ETFs like Leverage Shares 2X Short SPCX Daily ETF SSPC, Direxion Daily SpaceX Bear 2X ETF LOFD, Defiance Daily Target 2X Short SPCX ETF SPCQ, and GraniteShares 2x Short SpaceX Daily ETF SNK.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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