SpaceX Rockets Into Nasdaq-100 as SPCX Slides 29% From Its Post-IPO High 🚀

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. begins trading as a member of the Nasdaq-100 before U.S. markets open on Tuesday, joining the benchmark roughly a month after its June 12 initial public offering. Nasdaq confirmed the addition on June 26. Shares, listed as SPCX, debuted near $150 versus a $135 IPO price and climbed to an all-time high of $225.64 before pulling back. SPCX closed at $160.42 on Monday, down 0.98% on the day and approximately 29% below its post-IPO peak, according to Google Finance data.

Index inclusion will trigger mechanical buying from funds tracking the benchmark. Sawyer Merritt reported on X that mutual funds and ETFs tied to the Nasdaq-100 collectively manage around $800 billion in assets and will purchase SPCX at Monday's closing price. JPMorgan estimated SpaceX will carry roughly a 1.3% weight in the index, placing it near the 21st-largest constituent behind Nvidia, Walmart, Intel, and Tesla. Mike Khouw, chief strategist at OpenInterest.PRO, told CNBC that smaller weights limit the impact of index demand. "Make no mistake, this is still very high volatility," Khouw said. JJ Kinahan, senior vice president at Cboe, also flagged near-term swings, asking, "Are you comfortable with a $20 expected move over the next 11 days?"

Supply dynamics may temper the index-driven bid. Insider lockups tied to the June 12 IPO expire in tranches between 70 and 135 days after listing, though shares held by Elon Musk and other large backers remain restricted for 366 days. Susquehanna analyst Charles Minervino described the schedule as a near-term overhang, noting that new supply could reach the market as index demand builds. The next sessions will test whether passive inflows can offset that selling pressure on a stock that remains well off its June peak.