Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest acquired 3,291,184 shares of Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) on June 12, 2026, a transaction valued at approximately $444.3 million. The move coincided with the company’s public market debut on the Nasdaq, where shares rose nearly 19% by the closing bell.
Alongside this major entry into the space sector, the firm continued to reduce its exposure to Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), selling 80,536 shares for roughly $39.3 million.
The investment was distributed across four ARK exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to capitalize on the IPO. The ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) took 1.69 million shares, while the ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF (ARKQ) added 736,442 shares.
The remaining portion was split between the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) with 325,562 shares and the ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETF (ARKX), which some sources indicate acquired 538,341 shares, though others state 537,341.
SpaceX held its IPO at a price of $135 per share, a figure that implied a valuation of approximately $1.77 trillion. The stock opened significantly higher at $150 and reached a session peak of $176.52. By the close of the first trading day, the price settled at $160.
95, pushing the market capitalization above $2.1 trillion. The rally also meant that Elon Musk saw his net worth surpass the $1 trillion mark.
Portfolio rebalancing ahead of the SpaceX debut
This capital deployment followed a period of heavy portfolio rebalancing for Wood. In the week leading up to the purchase, ARK Invest conducted estimated total sales of up to $279 million across 20 different companies.
On June 11 alone, the firm disposed of roughly $234 million in stocks, including positions in Robinhood, Iridium Communications, and Teradyne. These moves cleared the path for the massive SpaceX position, which had previously been a cornerstone of the ARK Venture Fund as a private entity.
The shift away from Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) marks a clear preference for frontier infrastructure over traditional semiconductor growth. While the chip sector remains a pillar of technical development, ARK’s strategy appears increasingly focused on the convergence of satellite connectivity and reusable rocket technology.
Analysts following the firm note that this pivot reflects a broader trend where utility shifts dictate 2026 investment strategies across multiple asset classes.
Internal models project multi-trillion dollar growth
ARK’s long-term conviction is backed by internal valuation models that see substantial upside for the company. The firm’s base-case enterprise value for SpaceX is approximately $2.5 trillion by 2030, with a bull-case scenario reaching $3.1 trillion. Even the bear-case estimate of $1.7 trillion remains close to the initial IPO valuation.
Wood has labeled the venture a “moon-and-Mars opportunity” and believes the company maintains a 10-year lead in reusable rocket technology.
The firm identifies Starlink as the primary “financial engine” for the company, while launch services provide the “foundation” for its massive valuation. These satellite-based services are expected to evolve into trillion-dollar industries involving orbital data centers and global internet connectivity.
This focus on long-term utility is a common thread in modern portfolios, similar to how analysts project diverging paths for XRP value based on its potential to settle global liquidity.
Notable sales and consolidation in space tech
ARK Invest’s trading activity on June 12 involved several other high-profile departures to manage the new influx of SpaceX equity. Notable sells during the session included 98,835 shares of Roku Inc (ROKU) for $11.8 million and 39,850 shares of Tesla Inc (TSLA) for $15.9 million.
The firm also offloaded 67,420 shares of Baidu Inc (BIDU) and 50,746 shares of Rocket Lab Corp (RKLB), the latter suggesting a consolidation of space-sector bets on the industry leader.
Trading volume on the debut day was immense, with over 510 million shares changing hands, worth an estimated $84 billion. This level of liquidity underscores the intense market interest in the space economy.
For Cathie Wood, the move represents a high-conviction bet that the future of tech infrastructure lies in orbital assets rather than earth-bound hardware. As the market adjusts to the new $2.1 trillion giant, ARK’s focus remains on whether SpaceX can reach its $3.1 trillion bull-case target by the end of the decade.