Key Highlights
- ARK Invest acquired 3.29 million SpaceX shares valued at $444M during the company’s Nasdaq listing
- The SpaceX public offering generated $75 billion, setting a new record for the largest market debut ever
- ARK divested $39.3M worth of Advanced Micro Devices stock across three exchange-traded funds that same day
- ARK reduced its Rocket Lab holdings — a firm SpaceX identified as a competitor in its S-1 documentation
- This acquisition followed ARK’s sale of positions in 20 different companies totaling $222.87M the previous trading day
Cathie Wood’s investment management firm, ARK Invest, executed a significant transaction on Friday, June 13, 2026. The company purchased 3,291,184 SpaceX shares distributed across four exchange-traded funds coinciding with SpaceX’s first day of trading on the Nasdaq.
The aggregate value of ARK’s SpaceX acquisition reached $444,309,840. This substantial position was distributed among the ARK Innovation ETF, ARK Autonomous Technology and Robotics ETF, ARK Next Generation Internet ETF, and ARK Space Exploration and Innovation ETF.
Space Exploration Technologies Corp., SPCX
Prior to this public market purchase, SpaceX already represented ARK’s most significant holding within its Venture Fund, accounting for more than 11% of total net assets — surpassing both OpenAI and Anthropic.
ARK’s initial SpaceX investment through its Venture Fund occurred in late 2023, when the aerospace manufacturer’s valuation stood below $200 billion. Today, SpaceX commands a market capitalization of $2.11 trillion.
Historic Public Market Debut for SpaceX
The SpaceX IPO generated $75 billion through the distribution of 555.6 million shares. This achievement establishes it as the most substantial public market debut in financial history.
Within ARKX, the SpaceX allocation immediately became a top-tier holding, comprising 6.89% of the fund’s total assets.
ARK has consistently championed SpaceX’s business approach. “The company’s ability to re-use rockets results in structurally lower launch costs than competitors that will prove difficult to match,” the investment firm articulated in its thesis.
ARK Liquidates AMD and Rocket Lab Holdings
To accommodate the SpaceX position, ARK divested holdings across numerous portfolio companies.
Coinciding with the SpaceX acquisition, ARK sold 80,536 shares of Advanced Micro Devices distributed across its ARKQ, ARKW, and ARKX funds. This divestment generated $39,337,809.
ARK additionally reduced its Rocket Lab stake across ARKQ and ARKX portfolios. This transaction totaled $5,824,625.
The Rocket Lab sale timing was particularly noteworthy. SpaceX’s S-1 regulatory filing specifically identified Rocket Lab as a direct competitive threat, characterizing it as an entity transitioning from small-lift capabilities into medium-lift payload capacity.
The preceding trading day saw ARK liquidate positions across 20 different companies, amounting to $222.87 million in total proceeds. Teradyne represented the largest individual sale at $76.6 million. Combined sales of Twist Bioscience, Iridium Communications, and Robinhood Markets contributed an additional $64.2 million.
Additional divestments encompassed shares of Tesla, Baidu, Roku, CrowdStrike, Cloudflare, and Veracyte.
ARK disposed of 98,835 Roku shares generating $11,824,619 and 39,850 Tesla shares valued at $15,906,127.
This concentrated two-day liquidation campaign created sufficient portfolio capacity across ARK’s exchange-traded funds to accommodate the SpaceX position, which now ranks among the firm’s most substantial publicly traded equity holdings.
