Cathie Wood's ARK Invest acquired 3.29 million shares of SpaceX, totaling approximately $444 million, on June 12, the day of its IPO. These purchases were distributed across four of ARK's exchange-traded funds: ARKK, ARKQ, ARKW, and ARKX, with the largest allocation going to ARKK. This significant investment in SpaceX, which closed its first trading day nearly 19% above its IPO price at $160.95, pushed the company's market capitalization above $2.1 trillion.
Concurrent with the SpaceX acquisition, ARK Invest divested portions of other holdings, including Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Tesla. The firm sold 80,536 AMD shares, valued at roughly $39.3 million, continuing a trend of reducing its semiconductor exposure. The move also involved trimming Tesla shares, alongside Rocket Lab, Roku, and Baidu. This strategic shift highlights Wood's increased conviction in SpaceX, a company she has supported since late 2023 through ARK's venture fund.
SpaceX's IPO raised $75 billion from the sale of 555.6 million shares, marking it as the largest public market debut in history. The company, which already represented over 11% of ARK's venture fund's net assets, became one of the top holdings in the ARKX ETF, making up 6.89% of the fund on its debut day. Despite the substantial investment, some analysts point to SpaceX's accumulated deficit of $41.3 billion as of March 31 as a risk factor, alongside the high retail allocation of 30% for its IPO.
