SpaceX launches IPO on Nasdaq in New York on June 12, 2026.
Adam Jeffrey | CNBC
There is nothing like the real thing.
SpaceX “proxy shares”, whose option volumes were on the rise ahead of historic Friday initial public offering of sharesprofits are promoted. Some look like they have more rebound potential than others.
Actions EchoStarthe Colorado-based networking business, which owns about 3% of SpaceX, reversed and fell 14%. Space vehicle ASTwhose satellites are scheduled to launch on a SpaceX rocket next week, shares fell nearly 13%. Actions Virgin Galactic Holdingscompletely reversed Thursday’s big gain with a 34% loss.
Options traders seem flat-footed, with wheels outpacing puts in all three names, with AST the most popular, trading more than 250,000 contracts at a premium of more than $60 million. More than twice as many calls were bought as Friday morning.
“There’s a ton of short calls on these names as a way to get long SpaceX,” Danny Kirsch, head of options trading at Piper Sandler, said by phone. “I have no doubt that part of it is retail demand, but there is definitely institutional demand for SATS.”
SATS is EchoStar’s ticker, which saw shares rise another 5% in early trading on Friday. AST SpaceMobile shares were also traded at the time.
Concurrent demand for space-focused exchange-traded funds is also creating a supply bottleneck, helping to keep prices of proxy plays elevated, according to Corey Johnson, chief market strategist at Epistrophy Capital Research.
ETF like Buying a space ETF and Defiance Drone and Modern Warfare ETF both own shares in ASTS. Procure Space, which trades as UFO, is up 38% in 2026, while Defiance, which trades as JEDI, is up about 33%.
“People who can’t buy SpaceX or don’t think they can get it fast enough are putting money into these ETFs, and so those funds are forced to buy shares of AST, EchoStar, Spire, etc.,” Johnson said during a phone call. “It has nothing to do with the quality of these companies, the demand for their products or their cash flows.”
One thing seems clear: Demand for SpaceX options, which begin trading on Tuesday, is likely to be astronomical. The IPO was priced at $135 per share, a sweet spot for retail traders who don’t mind paying expensive premiums for nominally low share prices.
Shares of EchoStar and AST, which closed Thursday at $128.13 and $97.56, are trading with implied volatilities of 91 and 126, respectively.
“SpaceX has the potential to become one of the most actively traded options names among retail investors,” Anthony Denier, group president and CEO of Webull’s U.S., said in an email. “The combination of a likely high stock price, significant volatility and tremendous public interest creates an ideal environment for options trading. If borrowed stocks become scarce or rise in price, put options can offer investors a more practical way to express bearishness than outright shorting stocks.”
TeslaMusk’s original cult stock, is one of the most actively traded names among retail options traders.