SpaceX on Nasdaq: +32% in two days and a new wave of excitement around credit ETFs
The market is witnessing a phenomenal start to trading of SpaceX (SPCX) shares on the Nasdaq. In just two days after the historic listing, the quotes soared by 32% relative to the IPO price of $135, reaching the $178 mark. At the same time, a short-term peak of $192 was recorded on Monday, which only confirms the incredible demand from retail and institutional investors.
The IPO itself became the largest in world history: the company raised about $75 billion, more than doubling the record of Saudi Aramco in 2019. The order book was oversubscribed more than three times even before the official start of trading — investors submitted applications for approximately $250 billion. Goldman Sachs acted as the lead underwriter.
SpaceX's market capitalization after the listing is estimated at approximately $2.3 trillion. This automatically places the company among the most expensive public assets in the world, and Elon Musk, at least on paper, retains his trillionaire status.
Wave of Leveraged ETFs: Issuers Rush to Fill the Niche
Amid the hype, issuers of leveraged exchange-traded funds have begun mass-launching instruments tied to SPCX. Already on Monday, GraniteShares introduced the 2x Long SpaceX Daily ETF (SPAL) and 2x Short (SNK). Defiance, in turn, brought a double-long strategy (SPCU) to the market. The SPAL fee is 1.50%, and the fund itself recalculates positions daily, making it an exclusively short-term instrument.
In total, before the launch, regulators received about 25 applications for instruments related to SpaceX. Giants such as ProShares, Direxion, and Leverage Shares also joined the race. For comparison: the SPCL fund from Defiance, launched earlier, showed a trading volume of about $10 million on the first day and gained approximately 46% before SPCX itself entered the market. These figures clearly demonstrate how aggressively retail investors are willing to bet on individual stocks.
However, not all funds are focused on short-term speculation. ARK Invest reported that it now holds SPCX in four active ETFs: ARKX, ARKQ, ARKK, and ARKW. The company purchased about 3.3 million shares for approximately $444 million during the debut. By the end of May, SpaceX's share in the ARK Venture Fund reached 11.38%, becoming the fund's largest position.
My analysis: The current rise of SPCX is a classic effect of scarcity and oversubscription, which will quickly fade once additional share volume enters the market. Leveraged instruments here are playing with fire: due to daily position recalculation, even if the underlying asset rises over a long horizon, a loss can occur. Investors who are not ready for daily volatility of 10-15% should wait for stabilization and enter through classic ETFs, not 2x products.