SpaceX IPO: Korean Retail Investors Pour Over $660M, Dwarfing US Demand Fivefold
South Korean retail investors demonstrated an overwhelming appetite for Elon Musk’s SpaceX, acquiring over 1 trillion won ($661 million) worth of shares on its highly anticipated stock market debut. This surge underscores the intense local interest in the innovative space exploration firm.
This significant acquisition marks SpaceX as one of the largest overseas stock purchases by Korean retail investors in recent memory. It is a rare instance for a single US-listed company to attract such massive net buying from Korean retail investors in a single trading session, surpassing the 1 trillion won threshold.
According to financial industry sources on Wednesday, on June 12, the initial trading day, Korean retail investors purchased a net 1.2 trillion won in SpaceX shares. These transactions were facilitated through a network of 11 prominent brokerages, including Mirae Asset Securities, Korea Investment & Securities, and Toss Securities.
This aggressive buying spree by South Korean investors dramatically overshadowed retail demand observed in the US market. Vanda Research reported that US retail investors acquired a net $117 million to $118 million in SpaceX shares on the first trading day. Remarkably, even with many US investors securing direct IPO allocations, Korean retail investors managed to purchase over five times more SpaceX stock in the secondary market, showcasing unparalleled enthusiasm.
The remarkable demand for SpaceX also eclipsed interest in other overseas securities. For context, the second-most purchased asset among Korean investors on that day, the ProShares UltraPro QQQ ETF (TQQQ), saw comparatively modest net purchases of just $24.9 million.
Prior to SpaceX’s debut, the Direxion Daily Semiconductors Bull 3X Shares ETF (SOXL) held the record for the most heavily bought overseas security this month, with net purchases reaching $514.2 million on June 4. However, SpaceX’s initial trading day shattered this benchmark, attracting an impressive more than $660 million in net buying alone.
SpaceX shares, initially priced at $135 for the IPO, opened strongly at $150. The stock experienced significant upward momentum, peaking at $176 before settling at a closing price of $161.11, marking a robust 19.3 percent increase from its offering price. Based on this first-day closing valuation, Korean retail investors are estimated to have acquired approximately 5 million shares.
The positive momentum extended beyond the debut day. SpaceX continued its upward trajectory, gaining an additional 19.6 percent on June 15, its second day of trading. Projections indicate that net purchases by Korean retail investors across these initial two trading sessions are set to surpass 2 trillion won, highlighting sustained investor confidence.
The sheer scale of this investment clearly demonstrates SpaceX’s rapid emergence as a core holding within Korean retail investor portfolios. In just a single trading session, the company dramatically ascended to become one of the 30 most widely held US stocks, joining an elite cohort traditionally occupied by tech giants like Nvidia, Tesla, Apple, Microsoft, and Alphabet.
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