SpaceX soared on its first day as a public company, immediately jumping to $150 a share after opening trading on the Nasdaq, about 11% higher than the $135 it officially priced its IPO at on Thursday.
The stock hit $176 in midday trading, pushing the company’s market capitalization to nearly $2.3 trillion, before finally settling 19% higher at $160.95 by the close.
The stock pop is no surprise. The company’s IPO was oversubscribed by 4 times, according to Bloombergmeaning that many institutional investors did not receive an allocation and are likely buying shares in the open market.
Demand for SpaceX is also a function of its thin dispersion, with only about 4% of shares available for public trading, while early investors and employees own the rest. SpaceX has also successfully lobbied various indices (such as the Nasdaq 100) to change their inclusion rules. The company will now join those indices in days, not months, increasing demand for SpaceX stock before other large institutions and funds automatically start buying it.
Robinhood said it had seen “record” traffic on its trading platform on Friday, just hours after SpaceX’s historic debut on the public markets.
The debut is also one of the biggest windfalls in venture capital history. Returns to Founders Fund, which invested $600 million in the company and owns a 3 percent stake, are estimated at more than $50 billion at the IPO price of $135, according to Bloomberg. Meanwhile, Andreessen Horowitz’s stake is over $10 billion and Sequoia’s at over $20 billion.
Its $150 debut made founder Elon Musk the world’s first trillionaire. The New York Times reported that about 4,400 current and former SpaceX employees will become millionaires, while about 400 will become millionaires.
The original version of this article was published at 11 am. ET. The article has been updated with new share price and other information.
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