The space transportation and exploration corporation, SpaceX, has become quite well-known in recent years. The billion-dollar corporation is private, making buying shares challenging for outside investors.
This article outlines several ways for interested investors to join the expanding space exploration firm.
Need information on how to invest in SpaceX stock? Read on!
What Is SpaceX?
Space Exploration Technologies Corp was founded in 2002 by Musk. The company’s ultimate goal is to make space travel commercially viable so that Mars may be explored and inhabited. SpaceX serves commercial clients and government entities like NASA.
SpaceX is at the forefront of developing reusable booster rockets to reduce overhead expenses. In addition to providing transportation for NASA personnel to and from the International Space Station (ISS), SpaceX offers commercial space tourism journeys.
Starlink is SpaceX’s satellite Internet Service Provider (ISP). Since January 2020, the company has launched hundreds of satellites into orbit, allowing users in more than 40 nations to access the Internet. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Starlink has allowed the country to keep its Internet connection up and running.
When is the SpaceX Stock IPO?
This is the question on the minds of many investors. Especially as SpaceX CEO Elon Musk made the headlines by amassing a 9.2% stake in Twitter (NYSE: TWTR), making him the most prominent single stakeholder in the social media giant.
SpaceX is worth a lot of money, but there aren’t any signs that it will go public anytime soon. SpaceX is not expected to go public until the company makes regular flights to Mars, as stated by COO Gwynne Shotwell in an interview with CNBC. In addition, Musk has said that the company’s long-term goals do not align with the needs of public shareholders in the near term. If the firm ever goes public, a potential IPO would occur after Starlink’s IPO.
SpaceX may have made a few billion dollars from launch sales and the Starlink Internet service, but the firm does not publish its income since it is private. However, if the company wants to fund the high costs of operations and development, it may have to raise money on the public markets or increase the number of subscribers to its Starlink service.
How to Buy SpaceX Stock in 2023
SpaceX now flies NASA astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS), launches communications satellites, offers thrill rides to the public, and has long-term plans to carry humans to Mars. SpaceX is the first private firm valued at $100 billion, the first to send humans into space, and the first to reuse a rocket more than once.
This begs the question: how can one invest in SpaceX stock?
Buy SpaceX Stock After the IPO
Currently, buying SpaceX stock as a retail investor is impossible. The capital requirements of SpaceX are high, and the company is under pressure from investors who want to sell their shares. Launching a payload into orbit is a costly endeavor. SpaceX would benefit significantly from going public via an initial public offering (IPO) to access more capital. Prepare yourself in case it decides to become public.
To purchase SpaceX stock when it becomes available (not presently accessible), follow these simple steps:
- Open your brokerage account (or create one if you don’t already have one).
- Search for SpaceX
- Determine the number of shares you want to acquire.
- Place your order
- Monitor your stock portfolio
Keep in mind that you can’t invest in SpaceX stock just now. Until SpaceX has its initial public offering, investors cannot purchase stock. Be on the lookout for the initial public offerings of any other firms that Elon Musk owns. He has said that within the next few years, Twitter would go public.
8 Best Alternatives to SpaceX Stock
SpaceX stock, one of the most recognized brands in the space industry, is not publicly listed. This is a bummer for investors. Elon Musk founded SpaceX, one of the most promising new space companies, and it has received numerous government contracts. SpaceX has a sizable satellite industry in addition to transporting humans from Earth to the ISS.
Musk has no plans to go public with SpaceX but has yet to rule out floating Starlink, the company’s space-based Internet provider. However, retail investors cannot currently purchase shares of SpaceX through any direct channels.
Here are several stocks that might be excellent alternatives to SpaceX:
1. Virgin Galactic
Space tourism is Virgin Galactic’s primary goal. Richard Branson, a serial entrepreneur, founded the business, which has been open to the public since its merger with a SPAC run by Chamath Palihapitiya. The big concern for backers is whether Virgin Galactic can profit by offering space tourism.
The current share price of Virgin Galactic in 2023 is $3.56.
2. Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin may be best known for producing the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Still, it also has a sizable launch business in partnership with Boeing (BA 0.27%) and a sizable space industry centered on producing satellites and weapons. Although Lockheed has some commercial customers, the company has traditionally focused on NASA and Pentagon business. Hypersonic missiles, which can move at over 5 times the speed of sound, are only one example of the rapidly expanding space unit’s exposure to the military sector.
After hearing authorities protest the combination’s power, Lockheed Martin backed out of its plan to acquire Aerojet Rocketdyne and increase its space footprint. More than 15% of the company’s income comes from space-related activities, and that’s without Aerojet.
A share of Lockheed Martin stock is worth around $469.21 in 2023.
3. Rocket Lab USA
Like many other companies, this company is relatively new to the stock market. The company now specializes in the launch of tiny satellites. Still, it plans to expand its services to encompass more significant launches, satellite manufacturing, and associated services. As a low-cost provider already performing commercial launches, Rocket Lab has a leg up on some of its potential rivals in this market. Rocket Lab is a promising investment for diversifying portfolios by including some space speculation.
In 2023, a share of Rocket Lab stock is worth USD 3.90.
4. Aerojet Rocketdyne
Only two companies in the United States produce the rocket engines required to launch massive objects into orbit. Orbital ATK is one such company that Northrop Grumman (NOC 0.49%) has purchased. The other is Aerojet, the sole viable investment opportunity for individuals seeking a propulsion expert. Rockets, missiles, and other aerospace applications rely on Aerojet’s liquid and solid rocket propulsion systems. It fills a significant void in the larger space environment.
The price per share of Aerojet Rocketdyne stock in 2023 is estimated at $56.34.
5. Leidos Holdings
Leidos is the biggest of the military contractors known as “Beltway Bandits,” who provide information technology (IT) and consulting services rather than biological weapons to the government. With the acquisition of Dynetics in 2020, Leidos bolstered its space capabilities. Dynetics is an engineering and consulting business that has worked closely with NASA since the early 1960s, during the first U.S. space race. Leidos now offers a wide variety of services related to outer space, such as mission management, payload design, fabrication, electronics, and expertise for communicating with rockets.
In 2023, a share of Leidos Holdings stock is worth around $94.42.
6. Momentus
Momentus (NASDAQ: MNTS), a publicly listed commercial space startup, has inked a contract with SpaceX to ride shotgun on some of SpaceX’s following launch vehicles, making it a good choice for investors looking to get exposure to SpaceX without directly investing in the company. Momentus has stated in a press release that it will be taking part in four upcoming SpaceX flights into space, with the express purpose of putting various prototype technologies through their paces. Although Elon Musk has discussed his plans to make SpaceX public in the past, no specific details have been revealed yet about the IPO.
In the future, Momentus hopes to compete with SpaceX by providing commercial space services, such as the launch and return of cargo to Earth using its planes and technology. Momentus innovation is still in the early phases of development, but the business plans to use its partnership with SpaceX to conduct orbital tests of its products later this year. With a 60% drop in value over the previous six months, MNTS stock is currently a penny stock trading at $4.26 per share. However, upon disclosure of the partnership with SpaceX, the stock price rose by 45.1%. Momentous stock is currently valued at 0.43 USD per share in 2023.
Even if direct investment in SpaceX is unavailable now, investors interested in the firm and its endeavors may do so via a holding in Momentus. Currently, Momentus and SpaceX have an official launch agreement in place. Remember that Momentus is an untested commercial space firm mostly experimenting at this stage. Furthermore, MNTS stock has dropped significantly over the last several months and is a very volatile penny stock. The Momentus stock price may or may not recover.
Momentous stock is currently valued at 0.43 USD per share in 2023.
7. Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC)
The Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America is an investment bank and financial services holding corporation with a market capitalization of $271.56 billion. In November of 2018, SpaceX received $250 million from Bank of America at a value of around $30 billion. It’s estimated that it might get $1 billion for its stake in SpaceX.
8. Google’s parent firm, Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL)
Google is a $1.27 trillion firm that makes money from advertising on YouTube and other Google properties. It also finances a wide range of startups in the technology sector. SpaceX was worth $12 billion when Alphabet invested $900 million in the company in January 2015. This was part of a more considerable investment of $337 million scheduled for the following December. The sum of Google’s stake is most certainly above $10 billion.
Note that Bank of America and Alphabet (Google) are massive corporations in their own right and that their investment in SpaceX represents a minor portion of their overall company portfolios. Before purchasing their stock, you should research the company as a whole.
What Is SpaceX Valuation in 2023?
According to Crunchbase statistics, as of 14 December, SpaceX was valued at more than $9.8 billion, having raised this much throughout 32 funding rounds. The most recent one occurred in July of 2022 and it was a private equity round that raised $250 million with three investors.
According to the company’s financial records, SpaceX was valued at over $1 billion in 2010. Since May 2019, when it was about $33.3 billion, it has risen to $46 billion in August 2020, $100 billion in late October 2021, and $127 billion in July 2022. In only three years, SpaceX has tripled in value.
With its recent $750 million funding round, SpaceX has been valued at $137 billion.
SpaceX seeks to raise $750 million in a new round of investment, which would place a $137 billion valuation on the rocket and satellite internet firm. Thanks to last year’s fundraising efforts totaling $2.2 billion, SpaceX is now the most valued privately held firm in the United States. The venture capital company Andreessen Horowitz will spearhead the fundraising round.
A million people have signed up for SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service, and the company just launched its 200th rocket. Musk is expected to acquire most of the funding from Andreessen Horowitz, which provided $400 million toward his acquisition of Twitter in October. Sequoia Capital, Gigafund, and Founders Fund are among the company’s previous investors.
According to a Bloomberg article from December, SpaceX has offered insiders to sell shares for $77 apiece, valuing the company at close to $140 billion and making it the most valuable private enterprise in the United States. Recent months have been a mixed bag for SpaceX. After boosting services in Ukraine in the face of Russia’s military invasion, the corporation hit a milestone of 60 reusable rocket launches in 2022 with its Falcon program, recorded its 200th flight on January 3, and surpassed 1 million customers to its Starlink internet business.
Due to a coolant leak in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, NASA is allegedly contemplating hiring SpaceX to assist in returning station crew members to Earth. However, SpaceX has postponed several flights, including a moon lander. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson is concerned that Musk’s divisive leadership on Twitter is taking him away from his duties at SpaceX.
Final Thoughts on SpaceX Stock
SpaceX would tie with ByteDance for the title of a giant unicorn (a startup or private firm with a market value exceeding $1 billion) in the world with a valuation of about $140 billion. The company’s market capitalization of $126 billion puts it ahead of rival aerospace heavyweights Boeing (BA) ($111bn) and Lockheed Martin (LMT) ($126bn). According to a tweet by podcaster and micro VC fund manager Harry Stebbings, SpaceX is among the most sought-after firms for secondary share offerings as investors try to obtain exposure in their portfolios.
The sale of shares is designed to enable SpaceX personnel and stockholders to liquidate their holdings. SpaceX has often offered workers and early-stage investors liquidity to sell their shares on the secondary market without waiting for a public stock exchange listing. To fund its growth, Musk allegedly told SpaceX staff in June that the firm may spin out Starlink into a separate publicly-listed corporation in 2025 or later.
Concerns have been raised by investors and consumers of Tesla and SpaceX that Musk’s purchase of Twitter has diverted his focus. As part of funding his $44 billion purchase of the social networking site, Musk has sold shares in the electric car company, Tesla, causing the share price to drop by 60% this year.
Some FAQs About SpaceX Stock
Who are SpaceX shareholders?
Elon Musk, Bank of America, Google, and other private equity companies are among the stockholders of SpaceX.
What does the ticker symbol for SpaceX stock look like?
SpaceX is not publicly traded, so it has no stock ticker. It might become public within the next several years.
What is the value of SpaceX stock?
After receiving more funding, SpaceX is worth about $127-$140 billion. Due to the lack of a public stock market, there is no set share price for the corporation.
Can you buy SpaceX stock in 2023?
SpaceX stock is currently unavailable due to the company’s status as private. This company does not have a public stock market listing for its shares. This effectively precludes any direct investment in SpaceX stock. Elon Musk, a small group of public enterprises, and many private equity firms are the only shareholders in SpaceX. However, as we saw with Form Energy Stock, there may be a way to invest in SpaceX indirectly.
How can you invest in SpaceX stock?
Currently, buying SpaceX stock directly is not an option for individual investors.
Indirect investments may be made through:
- Companies that have contributed to SpaceX (Bank of America, Alphabet)
- Aerospace firms
- Spacex business associates or suppliers
SpaceX will go public at some point. When that time comes, we may invest in its stock.