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SpaceX Stock Breaks The IPO Price—and Cathie Wood Keeps Buying the Dip
By Al Root
Updated July 16, 2026, 4:23 pm EDT / Original July 16, 2026, 7:32 am EDT
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Four ARK Invest funds purchased about 123,000 SpaceX shares worth almost $17 million on Wednesday.
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SpaceX shares have now dropped for five consecutive days and nine of the past 11 trading sessions.
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Investor sentiment has been weighed down by valuation and worries that 20% of outstanding shares will unlock after the next earnings report.
SpaceX stock has lost altitude recently, closing below its IPO price for the first time on Thursday, creating an opportunity for Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest.
Four ARK funds, including the flagship ARK Innovation ETF, snapped up about 123,000External link SpaceX shares, worth almost $17 million, on Wednesday.
SpaceX was the sixth-largestExternal link position in the Innovation ETF, through Wednesday, accounting for about 4.4% of assets, according to ARK’s website.
ARK is a big believer in Elon Musk. Tesla is the largest position in the Innovation ETF. And recent declines in SpaceX stock haven’t seemed to have shaken the firm’s confidence.
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The stock lost another 3.1% on Thursday, closing at $131.11. It was the stock’s first close below the $135 IPO price. (Shares dipped below $135 at points on Wednesday.) The S&P 500 lost 0.5% on Thursday.
SpaceX shares have now dropped for five consecutive days and nine of the past 11 trading sessions.
A few things have weighed on investor sentiment, including valuation and worries that more stock held by early investors becoming available to trade would lead to additional selling pressure.
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SpaceX is valued at about 45 times estimated 2026 sales. And 20% of the shares outstanding will be unlocked and available to trade after the company’s second-quarter earnings report, due in a few weeks.
The stock move, and ARK’s purchase, come just ahead of SpaceX’s 13th test of its huge fully-reusable Starship rocket, set for Thursday evening at about 6:45 p.m. Eastern time.
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Starship promises to dramatically lower the cost of reaching space while dramatically increasing SpaceX’s capacity to put things into orbit. A partially-reusable SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket puts roughly 25,000 kilograms into space for around $1,500 a kilogram. The fully reusable Starship is designed to put up to 150,000 kilograms into space at a tenth of the per-kilogram cost.
Lower costs will enable new applications, such as orbital AI data centers—a business idea that supports SpaceX’s trillion-dollar valuation. But Starship isn’t operational yet. In the 13th test, Starship’s upper stage will try to deploy 20 Starlink V3—or version three—satellites. The upper stage will also attempt an in-space relight of a single Raptor rocket engine before a controlled re-entry and splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
The test can be pushed back if needed. The 12th test in May was delayed one day. Whenever it happens, investors will be watching and hoping a positive outcome can give SpaceX shares a boost.
Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.comExternal link
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