The Nasdaq debut of SpaceX saw an "astronomical" surge in retail trading activity on Friday, according to Citadel Securities, the largest U.S. retail market maker. The firm reported handling the majority of retail orders during the initial public offering (IPO) auction, marking the highest retail order activity ever recorded for an IPO auction.
SpaceX's listing was the largest U.S. flotation in recent history, nearly three times larger than the previous record. Despite initial concerns stemming from past IPO glitches, such as Facebook's chaotic 2012 debut, the trading process unfolded smoothly. Banks, exchanges, market makers, and clearinghouses successfully processed millions of orders, highlighting extensive stress-testing and preparation.
Morgan Stanley served as the stabilization agent, responsible for managing the stock's opening. Charles Schwab also reported a substantial volume, with over one million SpaceX orders within the first few hours of trading. The event is now being viewed as a blueprint for future mega-IPOs from companies like OpenAI and Anthropic, demonstrating that complex, high-demand offerings can be introduced without significant technical failures.
However, some analysts have warned about the potential for SpaceX shares to become a "meme stock" due to the intense retail interest, with one analyst initiating coverage with a "Sell" rating and a $115 price target, implying roughly 46% downside from current levels. On Tuesday, retail investors reportedly bought as much SpaceX stock as every other U.S. single stock combined in the entire prior week, with over $93 million in purchases accounting for approximately 73% of all retail single-stock purchases that day. SpaceX shares closed at $192.4, more than 42% above the $135 IPO price, and reached after-hours indications near $230.
Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas noted that trading in SpaceX leveraged ETFs has surpassed $3 billion in cumulative volume, with total net inflows of approximately $308 million. SPCH, one such ETF, recorded about $1.3 billion in volume on its second day, while SPCF led inflows with roughly $184 million.
