NEW YORK, July 18, 2026, 10:13 a.m. EDT
ARK Invest, led by Cathie Wood, boosted its holdings in Space Exploration Technologies Corp. NASDAQ:SPCX on Friday, purchasing 147,805 shares, according to its daily filing.
The latest purchase was 20% bigger than Wednesday’s acquisition of 122,807 shares, but represented just 0.18% of the volume on Friday.
ARK’s confidence increased. The size of its order was insufficient to provide substantial price backing.
SpaceX dropped 14.7% over the week, ending at $123.99. The Nasdaq declined 2.9%, widening the gap to 11.8 percentage points.
ARK releases trade information after transactions are completed. The firm describes these files as unofficial and unreconciled.
| ARK purchase date | Shares acquired | SPCX closing price | Estimated value at close | Buy as % of daily volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday, July 15 | 122,807 | $135.27 | $16.6 million | 0.21% |
| Friday, July 17 | 147,805 | $123.99 | $18.3 million | 0.18% |
Early estimates for closing values. These figures do not represent reported execution costs.
Trading volume increased by 44% on Friday compared to Wednesday. ARK increased its share purchases, but accounted for a lower proportion of the day’s activity.
The flagship ARK Innovation ETF (BATS:ARKK) acquired 95,129 shares on Friday, comprising 64% of ARK’s total reported activity.
On Friday, ARK sold 5,781 shares of Deere & Co. NYSE:DE, after reducing its position by 6,833 shares on Wednesday.
The average target among 33 analysts tracked by Barchart stood at $234.45, suggesting shares could gain 89% from Friday’s closing price. According to Barchart’s data, SpaceX was valued at nearly 95 times trailing sales.
The week’s decline picked up pace following Thursday’s Starship launch abort, when four of 33 booster engines did not ignite.
SpaceX is set to swap out two engines. Elon Musk stated the launch window is “early next week.” The company aims for Monday, July 20. Reuters
Space Capital CEO Chad Anderson described Starship as “the centerpiece” of the long-term thesis. The upcoming test flight will challenge that assessment in public markets. Reuters
Risks stay elevated. Fresh losses could follow another abort, heavy August lock-up supply or further valuation compression. A successful flight might trigger a comparable sharp rebound.
U.S. cash markets remained shut on Saturday. The upcoming flight attempt on Monday is expected to be the key driver. Investors are focusing on execution rather than ARK’s purchases as they look for a sustainable bottom.
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