SpaceX Stock Loved by Retail Investors: ETFs in Focus

Note that individual investors purchased a net $22.7 million of SpaceX shares during the first hour of Aug. 5's session, according to Vanda Research. That was more than three times the stock's average opening-hour inflow and marked its third-largest opening-hour retail haul across 37 trading sessions, as quoted on Yahoo Finance.

The buying streak remains intact, with SpaceX yet to record a single day of net retail selling since its June 12 debut, Vanda said, per the same Yahoo source.

Retail Enthusiasm Cools But Holds Firm

SpaceX 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 high.

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.

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 quoted on Yahoo Finance.

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

SpaceX's first earnings report as a public company provided support for that narrative. Revenue and adjusted earnings exceeded expectations, while the company highlighted about $16 billion in quarterly spending on AI and data centers (read: SpaceX Beats Q2 Estimates, Shares Fall: ETFs in Focus).

Although the enormous investment raised concerns about the cost of SpaceX's expansion, retail investors appeared to view the spending as an investment in future growth. Notably, SpaceX's AI business posted an operating loss of $1.26 billion in Q2, narrower than analysts' estimate of $2.39 billion.

Revenues from the AI segment came in at $2.56 billion, better than the $2.18 billion expected, according to StreetAccount, as quoted on CNBC.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate calls for a loss of 54 cents per share in 2026, followed by EPS of 66 cents in 2027. One of nine analysts has raised the company's earnings estimate for the ongoing quarter.

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.

Heavy AI investments have been part and parcel of every big AI company, as evident from Big Tech's mammoth AI investment pattern. Hence, we expect investors’ concerns around hefty AI investment to be less likely to hold SPCX shares back for long.

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

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