The
Elon Musk-led space company's stock was last trading 23% higher in midday trading to $166 a share, putting its market value at $2.17 trillion.
"This was a successful launch no doubt about it," said Jay Woods, chief market strategist from Freedom Capital Markets. "The public demand is there, so that's a good thing. But now we'll wait to see if it can hold that open price, or was it an euphoric retail crowd driving it."
SpaceX opened at $150 per share, marking a roughly 11% gain over its $135 IPO price. But that number was off the $175 level initially shown in indications of interest to trading desks.
"You have to give it a full trading day, which will be next week," Woods said. "The initial thoughts on the trading desks were that it could get up to $200."
SpaceX Operations Chief Gwynne Shotwell
told CNBC in an exclusive interview that she "wasn't sure we would go public." But she said the current moment "actually feels like the right time."
Some big investors have
quietly built out stakes in SpaceX as a private company for nearly two decades.
Retail traders
also tried to get in on the IPO, part of a broader trend of support for Musk from individual investors. Yet SpaceX allocated a smaller-than-expected portion of its IPO to the retail class, a source told CNBC.
"Market sentiment is reflecting a book that looks like it was pretty robust," Dan Alpert, founding managing partner of Westwood Capital, told CNBC. "The folks who only got a portion of the shares they asked for are now looking for a stable market in which to buy."
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<small>Source: CNBC</small>
