SpaceX Gains 19% Post-IPO — ETFs Struggle to Capitalize
By John Nada·Jun 14, 2026·2 min read
SpaceX's IPO soared, gaining 19%, but ETFs holding shares saw varied outcomes. Only Ron Baron's ETF capitalized, climbing 3.4%.
SpaceX made a splash with its IPO, surging 19% on its first day. Yet most ETFs holding SpaceX pre-IPO saw little benefit. According to Yahoo Finance, the Tema Space Innovators ETF (NASA) dropped 9.4% despite SpaceX being 5.5% of its portfolio as of June 11. Why the disconnect? Recent inflows diluted NASA's SpaceX exposure, as funds couldn't add shares ahead of the IPO. With a hefty $2.9 billion in assets under management, the fund saw its other holdings plunge, erasing potential gains from SpaceX's debut.
The ERShares Private-Public Crossover ETF (XOVR), which first offered SpaceX exposure, also failed to ride the rocket, falling 0.7% despite holding nearly 14% of its portfolio in the stock. Year-to-date, XOVR is down 0.9%, starkly underperforming the S&P 500's 9.1% gain. The fund is up 6.9% since first adding SpaceX in December 2024, but that's a far cry from the S&P's 25% over the same period.
KraneShares Public-Private AI & Technology ETF (AGIX) saw a modest 0.7% increase. Its 2.5% SpaceX weighting meant the IPO's impact was understandably muted.
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But one ETF bucked the trend. The Baron First Principles ETF (RONB) rose 3.4% on the day, having increased its SpaceX position to 16.5% from the previous 2.5%. Ron Baron's direct, sizable stake in SpaceX paid off, highlighting the importance of the size and structure of investment positions.
ETFs, by nature, spread risk across various holdings. This diversification means a single stock's movement, even one as monumental as SpaceX, can easily be overshadowed by losses elsewhere in the portfolio. NASA's drop underscores this, with other space stocks selling off as SpaceX became publicly tradable.
For investors, the lesson is clear: capturing gains from a single stock in a diversified fund can be elusive. With pre-IPO investments, valuation clarity and underlying fund structures are crucial but often opaque. RONB's success underscores the potential of direct exposure, yet such strategies come with their own risks.