Cathie Wood’s ARK Buys The Dip As SpaceX Wipes Out Tesla-Sized Market Value Since Its Peak: Retail Bears Smell Blood

• SPCX has erased more than $1.2 trillion in market value since its June peak of $225.64, roughly equivalent to Tesla’s market cap.
• Cathie Wood remains bullish, calling Starship’s latest splashdown potentially “game-changing” despite the stock falling below its IPO price.
• SpaceX faces two major near-term catalysts: its first public earnings report on Aug.4 and a potential release of up to 911.5 million locked-up shares on Aug.6.

SpaceX’s (SPCX) post-IPO slide deepened on Monday, erasing more than $1 trillion in market value from its June peak. Still, Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment Management bought the dip while long-term bulls doubled down on the company’s Starship-driven upside.

SPCX stock fell another 1.4% on Monday to $113.50, its 13th decline in the last 16 sessions, after hitting a high of $225.64 in June. The value erased since that peak now exceeds $1.2 trillion, which is about the size of CEO Elon Musk’s other public company, Tesla. Meanwhile, Tesla shares are at their lowest levels in nearly a year. 

ARK Buys SpaceX, Tesla Amid Selloff 

ARK bought 124,543 SpaceX shares worth about $14.1 million across four ETFs on Monday, according to its trade disclosure. The flagship ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) bought 78,031 shares, while ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics (ARKQ) added 25,442. ARK Next Generation Internet (ARKW) bought 10,369 shares and ARK Space & Defense Innovation (ARKX) added another 10,701.

Wood also bought the weakness in Tesla, with ARKK and ARKQ purchasing a combined 27,864 shares worth about $8.6 million. 

The purchases come after Wood’s bullish stance after SpaceX’s latest Starship flight: “Starship’s successful splashdown was perhaps game-changing news for #SpaceX; yet, the stock dropped further below its IPO price today,” Wood said on X, arguing that markets were climbing a “wall of worry.” She added: “Bull markets do not end in this way. They end when everyone believes the sky is the limit!”

Starship Progress Fails To Lift SPCX Stock

The buying comes despite an unusual disconnect between SpaceX’s operational progress and its stock. Friday’s 13th Starship test flight completed nearly all its major objectives, including deploying operational Starlink V3 satellites, successfully relighting a Raptor engine in space and bringing the ship through an intact splashdown while transmitting telemetry. Raymond James reiterated a 'Strong Buy' rating and a $800 price target, implying over 600% upside from current levels, calling Flight 13 an incremental de-risking event for Starship. The firm highlighted the heat shield, satellite deployment, in-space engine relight, and splashdown as major steps toward full reusability. However, the Super Heavy booster remained the notable weak spot, failing to complete a successful landing burn. 

The next major test is much closer. SpaceX is due to report its first earnings as a public company on Aug.4, giving investors their first detailed look at the business since its IPO. Then comes another potential source of selling pressure. As many as 911.5 million locked-up shares could become eligible for sale on Aug.6, the second full trading day after earnings, as the first tranche of the company’s post-IPO lockup expires. Musk and certain other insiders remain subject to longer restrictions.

SpaceX Bulls Look Past The Selloff

While traders debate whether SpaceX has found a bottom, longtime Musk backer Ron Baron is operating on a very different time horizon. Baron recently said in an interview that SpaceX accounted for $25 billion of Baron Capital’s $70 billion in assets as of June. His firm invested $2 billion across 27 SpaceX transactions beginning in 2017, with the stake reaching about $25 billion by June. Baron said the firm then invested another $1 billion in the IPO to avoid dilution.

“We think that in SpaceX, we’re going to make somewhere 20 times, 30 times from the IPO price” over the next 10 to 15 years, Baron said. He went further, saying he believes SpaceX could eventually become the world’s largest company, with a valuation of $20 trillion to $30 trillion, and potentially $40 trillion.

Ross Gerber, CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management, struck a more cautious tone on X, saying his firm’s decision to steer clear of the SpaceX IPO had paid off. Still, he suggested the selloff could eventually create an opportunity, saying SpaceX “might even be a bargain” sometime in the next year. 

How Do Retail Traders Feel About SPCX?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for SPCX slipped to ‘bearish’ from ‘neutral levels a day ago amid a 361% jump in 24-hour message volumes.

One user said, “$SPCX can’t wait for $70-80, I’ll maybe dip my toes in there, everyone is underwater as far as retail goes, so they’ll be holding, won’t want to cut losses at almost 45%. It’ll have a good base around there I think. Hopefully it drops further and I’ll get in. We all told you guys this thing would run up then tank at IPO, but no one believe it, this was a rug pull of massive proportions, I like this stock at 5-7x earnings, right now it’s still at 10x. Further to go down from here.”

Another user said, “$SPCX And the 95% of shares which cost basically what...a dollar each? are still worth about 1.3T. Meanwhile the 5% that have lost money are still creating the ridiculous valuation. Them's the facts. I figure about twenty bucks is fair for this outfit.”

SPCX stock has declined 26% over the past month. 

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