In a major portfolio adjustment on June 12, Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest snapped up approximately $444 million worth of SpaceX shares while simultaneously cutting its stake in Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). This move marks one of the most significant shifts for the investment firm as Elon Musk’s rocket company made its debut on public markets.
Data from ARK Invest Tracker reveals that ARK acquired a total of 3,291,184 SpaceX shares across four ETFs: ARKK, ARKQ, ARKW, and ARKX. The ARKK Innovation ETF led the charge with 1.69 million shares, while ARKQ added 736,442 shares, ARKW purchased 325,562 shares, and ARKX bought 538,341 shares. The total value of these transactions was roughly $444.3 million.
Concurrently, ARK trimmed its exposure to AMD by selling 80,536 shares across ARKQ, ARKW, and ARKX. This sale, valued at approximately $39.3 million, continues a broader trend of reducing the semiconductor company’s weight within ARK’s portfolios.
This aggressive purchase coincided with a surge of investor interest in SpaceX during its first day of public trading. Priced at $135 per share in its IPO, implying a valuation of about $1.77 trillion, SpaceX shares soared to an intraday high of $176.52 before closing at $160.95. This gave the company a market capitalization exceeding $2.1 trillion and propelled Elon Musk’s net worth above $1 trillion, making him the world’s first trillionaire according to post-debut wealth estimates.
ARK’s relationship with SpaceX predates the IPO. The firm first gained exposure through its ARK Venture Fund in 2023, allowing investors to participate in the aerospace company’s growth while it remained private. As of May 31, SpaceX represented 11.38% of the ARK Venture Fund’s net assets, making it the fund’s largest holding, though this weighting has fluctuated over time.
Cathie Wood has been a vocal advocate for Musk’s ventures. She recently stated that SpaceX holds a 10-year lead over any competitor, reflecting ARK’s belief in the company’s competitive advantage in space transportation and satellite communications.
This purchase follows a week of heavy portfolio rebalancing at ARK, during which the firm sold nearly 10 million shares across 20 companies, with total sales estimated at up to $279 million. Much of that activity occurred on Thursday, when ARK disposed of roughly $234 million worth of stocks, including positions in Teradyne, Twist Bioscience, Iridium Communications, Robinhood, and Roku.
ARK’s long-term forecasts suggest the firm believes SpaceX can continue to grow despite its already massive valuation. Internal models project a base-case enterprise value of approximately $2.5 trillion by 2030, with a bull-case scenario reaching around $3.1 trillion. Even the bear-case estimate stands at roughly $1.7 trillion, close to the IPO valuation.
Wall Street analysts remain divided on the stock’s prospects. Some have set price targets as high as $190 per share, arguing that investors are valuing SpaceX as a combination of aerospace, satellite internet, defense, and artificial intelligence businesses. Others have warned that the stock could eventually retreat toward $63 if future growth falls short of expectations embedded in the post-IPO valuation.