Will the SpaceX IPO Put These 5 Public Space Stocks Into a Higher Orbit?

Key Points

• SpaceX filed its S-1 targeting a Nasdaq listing valued at up to $2 trillion, which would make it the largest public offering ever recorded.
• Rocket Lab, Alphabet, Redwire, Intuitive Machines, and Destiny Tech100 are five publicly traded stocks positioned to benefit from the SpaceX listing.
• Alphabet holds an estimated 5% stake in SpaceX worth nearly $100 billion at IPO pricing, representing a largely unpriced catalyst for the stock.

The most anticipated IPO in market history is now weeks away. SpaceX filed its S-1 on May 20, targeting a Nasdaq listing under the ticker SPCX as early as June 12.

The final valuation, pricing date, and deal size remain subject to amended filings and IPO pricing, but reports have centered on a $1.75 trillion to $2 trillion valuation range and a potential raise large enough to eclipse Saudi Aramco’s record-setting public offering. The roadshow begins June 8, and Elon Musk will retain 85.1% of voting power through a dual-class structure.

However, the SpaceX IPO is not just a standalone event. It could establish a public market reference point for the space economy at a scale that changes how every publicly traded space company is valued and discussed. Capital has been moving into the space sector at an accelerating pace since the S-1 became public, and that dynamic is likely to intensify as the listing approaches.

But not every stock rising on SpaceX headlines has the same level of exposure. Some could benefit from valuation comparisons, supply-chain demand, ownership stakes, or increased investor interest. It is important to focus on the companies with the strongest ties to the SpaceX story rather than simply chasing momentum.

The companies best positioned to benefit are those with meaningful operational, financial, or strategic connections to SpaceX and the broader space economy—making the following five stocks particularly important to watch as the IPO approaches.

Rocket Lab: The Clearest Public SpaceX Comparison

Rocket Lab NASDAQ: RKLB is the most direct and obvious beneficiary of the SpaceX IPO.

As the closest publicly traded competitor to SpaceX, offering overlapping capabilities across launch services, spacecraft manufacturing, and national security missions, Rocket Lab is the name investors turn to first for public-market exposure to the space economy.

Every time SpaceX's valuation is discussed, the natural question that follows is: What is the second-most-capable space company in the world worth?

The stock is up around 75% year-to-date (YTD) and over 350% over the past year, and the momentum has only accelerated since SpaceX's S-1 filing. The 52-week and all-time high of $151 was hit recently, although shares have since pulled back from that peak.

The stock's momentum isn’t just tied to the IPO, however. Rocket Lab has a record $2.2 billion backlog, a Q2 guidance range that beat consensus by 12%, a $90 million Space Force GEO satellite contract, and Neutron on track for its debut launch in Q4 2026.

The consensus among 20 analysts is a Moderate Buy with a price target of $97, well below where the stock trades, reflecting how rapidly the market has repriced the SpaceX IPO halo effect onto RKLB.

Alphabet: A Hidden SpaceX Stake Inside a Mega-Cap AI Story

Alphabet NASDAQ: GOOGL may be the single most overlooked beneficiary of SpaceX in the entire market.

In 2015, Alphabet and Fidelity jointly invested approximately $1 billion in SpaceX at a valuation of around $12 billion, with Alphabet contributing close to $900 million, and acquired a combined stake of approximately 10%. Following the merger of SpaceX and xAI in early 2026, equity was diluted, and Alphabet's current stake is estimated at almost 5% of the combined entity. At a $2 trillion IPO valuation, that stake is worth nearly $100 billion, representing a roughly 100-fold return on the original investment over a decade.

That $100 billion figure is not reflected anywhere in Alphabet's current valuation conversation. It is recorded on its balance sheet as a long-term investment, and when it is marked to market at IPO pricing, the impact on Alphabet's book value will be meaningful.

The stock is up around 20% YTD, with a market cap north of $4.5 trillion, net income of $132.17 billion, and a forward P/E of 26.

The consensus among 54 analysts is a Moderate Buy, with a price target of $43, implying nearly 10% upside. For investors already holding GOOGL for its AI and cloud momentum, the SpaceX IPO represents an additional and largely unpriced catalyst.

Redwire: A Supply Chain Built for the Space Economy's Expansion

Redwire NYSE: RDW does not launch rockets directly or land on the moon. But what it does is arguably just as important: design and manufacture the mission-critical hardware that makes space missions possible.

Hardware and components such as deployable solar arrays, precision robotic arms, radio-frequency antennas, advanced composites, and in-space manufacturing systems are used across civil, national security, and commercial programs.

Every satellite that gets launched, every government mission that gets funded, and every commercial constellation that expands needs the kind of hardware Redwire builds. The SpaceX IPO and the broader wave of space investment it is expected to catalyze put Redwire directly in the path of accelerating demand.

The stock is up about 170% YTD, including a 60% surge in the past week alone as SpaceX IPO momentum swept through the sector. The underlying fundamentals for RDW justify investor attention beyond the sentiment trade. Q1 2026 revenue grew 57.9% year over year (YOY) to $96.97 million, and the record backlog of $498 million grew 71% YOY, a direct reflection of more programs being funded and more missions being contracted across both government and commercial customers.

The NATO Penguin Mk3 tactical UAS contract announced last week, alongside the company's participation in SOF Week 2026, underscores a national security revenue stream that is developing alongside the commercial space business.

Analysts hold a consensus Moderate Buy rating across 12 analysts. The stock's move has significantly outpaced the consensus price target of around $15, and a wave of upward revisions could follow in the coming weeks as analysts update their models to reflect both the fundamental progress and the sector's repricing.

Intuitive Machines: The Lunar Economy Play

Intuitive Machines NASDAQ: LUNR has surged more than 135% YTD, driven by a combination of sector momentum and genuine fundamental progress.

The company is the leading provider of commercial lunar mission services under NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program and holds a $4.82 billion Near Space Network Services contract, one of the most significant long-term government space contracts in the market.

The $1.75-$2 trillion SpaceX valuation is important for LUNR specifically because it establishes a public-market reference point for the commercial space economy, and the lunar segment of that economy is where Intuitive Machines operates exclusively.

SpaceX's Starship rocket is the vehicle that will eventually enable large-scale lunar logistics and cargo missions, including those that NASA has contracted Intuitive Machines to provide. The two companies are complementary rather than competitive, and a successful SpaceX listing that validates the scale of the space economy would directly benefit Intuitive Machines.

The stock recently hit a 52-week high of $46.75, taking its quarterly gain to almost 165%. Investors should note that the analyst consensus rating is Hold among 12 analysts, with a price target of $31.50, implying downside from current levels, and that the stock has meaningfully outrun analyst estimates amid sector sentiment and overall excitement and euphoria.

Destiny Tech100: The Closest Public Market Proxy With NAV Risk

Destiny Tech100 NYSE: DXYZ is the most unusual name on this list, and the one that requires the most context. It is a publicly traded closed-end fund that holds a portfolio of private, pre-IPO technology companies, including SpaceX, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Stripe.

For investors seeking the most direct public-market exposure to SpaceX before the IPO, DXYZ is the closest available vehicle.

The fund has surged by more than 61% YTD and is up almost 170% from its 52-week low. Perhaps unsurprisingly, its correlation with SpaceX IPO news flow has been nearly one-to-one.

However, investors need to understand what they are buying. DXYZ currently trades at a hefty premium to its net asset value, meaning the market is paying significantly more for the portfolio than the underlying holdings are independently worth. That premium to NAV compresses the potential upside from the SpaceX listing itself, since the market has already priced in a significant portion of the expected gain. In the short term, however, its more than 120% surge over the prior 6 months might continue amid a potential sell-the-news scenario as the highly anticipated listing approaches.

The fund also has no analyst coverage and carries a beta of almost 5, making it an extremely volatile vehicle likely suited only to traders with a high risk tolerance.