ARK Invest Pours $529M Into SpaceX IPO While Dumping AMD and Tesla Shares

Key Highlights

• ARK Invest acquired 3.29 million SpaceX shares totaling approximately $529.7 million during the company’s trading debut
• SpaceX stock rallied 19% on its first trading day, propelling Elon Musk’s wealth beyond the $1 trillion threshold
• ARK divested holdings in AMD, Tesla, Roku, Baidu, and Cloudflare during portfolio restructuring
• ARK Innovation ETF has declined 2.85% year-to-date compared to the S&P 500’s 8.56% gain
• Cathie Wood forecasts interest rate reductions and positions AI as a deflationary force

On June 12, Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest executed one of its most substantial investment maneuvers in recent history, acquiring over $529 million in SpaceX stock during its inaugural public trading session.

The ARK family of funds secured 3,291,184 shares of Space Exploration Technologies Corp at a final price of $160.95 per share. The aerospace company’s stock experienced a 19% surge on its debut, contributing to Elon Musk’s milestone achievement of surpassing $1 trillion in personal wealth.

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., SPCX

This wasn’t Wood’s initial investment in SpaceX. ARK originally acquired shares in the final months of 2023, with SpaceX eventually becoming the dominant position in the firm’s approximately $1 billion private venture portfolio prior to going public.

Elon Musk established SpaceX in 2002 with the vision of developing reusable rocket technology. Currently, the company’s sole revenue-generating segment is Starlink, its satellite-based internet service. Financial disclosures in the company’s prospectus reveal an accumulated deficit totaling $41.3 billion through March 31.

Market observers have expressed reservations about the IPO’s framework. Technical analyst James DePorre highlighted the 30% retail investor allocation—significantly exceeding the standard 5-10% range—suggesting this could trigger downward pressure as initial investors cash out their gains.

ARK Reduces Technology Holdings

Simultaneously with its SpaceX acquisition, ARK was liquidating other positions. The investment firm disposed of 80,536 Advanced Micro Devices shares valued at $39.3 million across its various ETF products. Additional sales included positions in Tesla, Roku, Baidu, and Cloudflare.

The Tesla divestment amounted to $15.9 million, while Roku shares totaled $11.8 million, Baidu reached $7.8 million, and Cloudflare represented $2.5 million. ARK additionally liquidated $2.6 million in Strata Critical Medical stock.

These transactions signal a strategic reallocation from traditional technology investments toward the space industry sector.

ARK’s Current Track Record

ARK’s primary investment vehicle, the Innovation ETF, has experienced challenges throughout the current year. The fund has declined 2.85% in 2026, contrasting sharply with the S&P 500’s 8.56% appreciation during the identical timeframe.

Looking at a five-year period ending June 12, the ARK Innovation ETF generated an annualized loss of -8.06%. By comparison, the S&P 500 delivered 11.84% annual returns during this same stretch, based on Morningstar data.

Between 2014 and 2024, the fund eliminated $7 billion in investor capital, securing its position as the third-largest wealth destroyer among both mutual funds and ETFs, according to Morningstar’s comprehensive analysis.

Investor withdrawals from the ARK Innovation ETF totaled approximately $294.27 million during the twelve-month period concluding June 11, based on data from ETF analytics provider VettaFi.

Morningstar analyst Bella Albrecht identified two ARK funds among the poorest-performing ETFs during the first quarter of 2026.

Despite these headwinds, Wood maintains an optimistic economic outlook. She has characterized AI as a “great acceleration,” contending that AI training expenses are plummeting 75% annually, while inference costs are collapsing between 85% and 98% each year.

She remains attentive to Federal Reserve policy decisions. On June 5, Wood stated her expectation that incoming Fed Chair Kevin Warsh will implement rate cuts as productivity advances and inflationary pressures subside.

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