On July 20th, Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest purchased $20.5 million worth of SpaceX stock (Nasdaq: SPCX), acquiring 170,634 shares while the price was around $119.85. Despite this investment, SpaceX’s stock is still trading below its original IPO price. Also on that day, ARK sold $4.1 million worth of Robinhood (Nasdaq: HOOD) stock, offloading 41,322 shares.
Key Takeaways
- ARK bought $20.5 million of SpaceX (SPCX) on July 20 across four of its ETFs.
- SpaceX shares traded near $119.85, down more than 45% from their June IPO price of $135.
- ARK trimmed Robinhood (HOOD) by $4.1 million the same day, continuing a pattern of profit-taking.
A Familiar Pattern of Buying the SpaceX Dip
The SpaceX purchase spread across ARK’s flagship ARKK, ARKW, ARKQ and ARKX funds, according to the firm’s daily trade disclosures. It is not the first time Wood has stepped in as Elon Musk’s rocket company has slid, given Ark Invest added $32.5 million of SpaceX shares in an earlier dip this year, and the fund has separately amassed roughly 3.3 million shares tied to the stock’s Starlink and artificial intelligence (AI)-linked infrastructure businesses.
SpaceX’s decline has been steep. The stock topped $225 shortly after its record June IPO, which raised roughly $86 billion, but has since shed more than 40% of its value and closed below its $135 offering price for the first time since its debut earlier this month. The stock is currently trading at $119.85.
Experts suggest several factors are contributing to the recent downturn. Investors are cashing in profits after a highly anticipated initial public offering, re-evaluating the company’s worth, and reacting to a failed test of its new Starship rocket. Additionally, the upcoming expiration of restrictions on early investors’ shares could lead to increased selling.
SpaceX’s Bitcoin Treasury Angle
SpaceX holds roughly 18,712 bitcoin (BTC), worth close to $1.19 billion at current prices, making it one of the largest corporate holders of the asset outside of dedicated treasury firms such as Strategy (Nasdaq: MSTR). A falling share price does not change that balance sheet position, but it does mean ARK is accumulating exposure to a bitcoin-holding company at a steep discount to its post-IPO highs.
The Robinhood sale was smaller and fits a different pattern. ARK has moved in and out of Robinhood repeatedly this year, at one point buying the dip on Robinhood alongside Coinbase, Circle and Bullish as crypto-linked stocks slid broadly. Robinhood shares closed July 20 near $99.28, down modestly on the day, and the stock has been a strong performer in 2026 as its crypto and options businesses have expanded.
On the same day, ARK Investment Management also bought $18.2 million worth of Meta Platforms stock and sold $4.1 million of Advanced Micro Devices shares. These trades weren’t related to their recent SpaceX-Robinhood activity, but they show ARK is generally favoring companies that build the infrastructure for artificial intelligence over those focused on semiconductor manufacturing.
Wood’s Broader Crypto Thesis
The trades come as Wood continues to make some of the most aggressive public bitcoin forecasts on Wall Street. She has doubled down on a long-term bull case that places bitcoin’s value between $1 million and $1.5 million per coin, with a base case around $650,000, citing institutional adoption and the asset’s growing recognition as a distinct store of value.
Wood has also projected the broader crypto ecosystem could scale from roughly $1 trillion today to $25 trillion by 2030, and has described bitcoin as a “new Bretton Woods” for a fracturing global monetary system.
Despite the drawdown, SpaceX’s rise has been rapid by any measure. The company landed a spot in the Nasdaq-100 index just weeks after its record IPO, a milestone that typically takes newly public companies years to reach and one that forces index funds to buy the stock regardless of near-term price swings. That dynamic has added a layer of structural demand even as active investors like ARK trade around the volatility.
SpaceX will announce its financial performance for the second quarter on August 4th, including a live webcast for investors. This report is particularly important as it’s the first detailed look at SpaceX’s finances since going public and may help clarify how much the company is worth, which has been a concern recently. Investors will also be watching for news about the next test flight of Starship and any updates regarding when employees can sell their shares.
Robinhood’s upcoming financial report will reveal if cryptocurrency trading is still increasing quickly enough to support the initial optimism from ARK Invest, despite ARK reducing its stake as the stock performs well. Regardless of the results, ARK’s regular reports on its trades will continue to provide a detailed look at how one of Wall Street’s biggest crypto supporters is investing in these companies.
2026-07-21 15:58