Cathie Wood’s $20 million SpaceX bet pays off as stock jumps 7%

During Tuesday’s session, SpaceX shares rose $8.52 to $128.37 as of 11:31 a.m. EDT, according to Nasdaq real-time market data. Applying that increase to ARK’s latest purchase gives the position an unrealized gain of about $1.45 million, although its final value will depend on where the stock trades when the funds sell.

Tuesday’s advance followed a 3.34% decline on Monday, when SpaceX extended a steep retreat from its post-IPO peak. Despite the rebound, the stock remained about 4.9% below its $135 offer price and nearly 43% under its record high of $225.64.

ARK expands its SpaceX exposure

Among the four funds, the ARK Innovation ETF made the largest purchase by adding 97,664 SpaceX shares. ARK’s disclosure valued that position at roughly $11.70 million using Monday’s closing price.

The ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF purchased another 31,807 shares worth about $3.81 million. At the same time, the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF added 28,153 shares valued at approximately $3.37 million.

Completing the latest round, the ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETF bought 13,010 shares for close to $1.56 million. ARK spread the purchase across funds with different mandates, although each portfolio gained exposure to the same SpaceX price recovery.

Monday’s transaction followed another large ARK purchase on July 17, when four funds acquired 147,623 SpaceX shares after the stock fell 5.43% to a fresh post-IPO low. According to ARK’s July 17 trading report, those shares were worth about $18.3 million at the closing price of $123.99.

ARKK led that earlier purchase with 95,129 shares valued at approximately $11.8 million. ARKQ bought 30,464 shares worth $3.78 million, while ARKX added 12,611 shares valued at $1.56 million. ARKW completed the transaction with 9,419 shares worth roughly $1.17 million.

Across the July 17 and July 20 disclosures, ARK purchased 318,257 SpaceX shares valued at about $38.75 million at the respective closing prices. The two transactions continued a series of investments that began around SpaceX’s June 12 stock-market debut.

According to Ark Invest Tracker, Wood’s firm had already invested more than $475 million in SpaceX by the week ending July 10. The tracker reported about $52.1 million of purchases during that week, following roughly $444 million of buying around the IPO.

Wall Street’s outlook remains largely positive despite SpaceX’s post-IPO decline. According to an Ark Invest Tracker post citing Reuters data from July 7, analysts had a median price target of $213.50, which implies about 66% upside from Tuesday’s $128.37 price. Raymond James held the highest target at $800, followed by Morgan Stanley at $300, while MoffettNathanson had the lowest estimate at $130.

Short sellers retain large exposure

Although Tuesday’s rally gave ARK’s latest position an early lift, S3 Partners data indicates that bearish traders have benefited from the decline that followed SpaceX’s record high. According to the financial-data firm, short sellers accumulated about $4 billion in paper profits over the previous month.

S3 Partners also estimated that investors betting against SpaceX had shorted about 30% of its freely traded shares, equal to roughly 192 million shares. A large short position can add buying pressure when the price rises because some traders may repurchase shares to close their bets, though S3 Partners had not attributed Tuesday’s gain specifically to short covering.

Operational concerns have also weighed on investor sentiment since the IPO. SpaceX called off Starship’s first planned post-listing flight after an automatic abort triggered by engine problems, according to the original launch update. The cancellation added another setback while the stock was already retreating from its June peak.

Investors are also watching the scheduled expiration of SpaceX’s post-IPO lockup on Aug. 19. According to the lockup details cited in the original report, the expiration could make an additional 900 million shares eligible for trading, potentially increasing the stock’s available supply.

For now, Tuesday’s 7.10% jump has recovered Monday’s entire decline and moved SpaceX closer to its IPO price. Nasdaq data still placed the shares $6.63 below the $135 offer level, leaving ARK’s earlier purchases with different results depending on their entry prices, even as the latest $20.45 million bet moved into profit.