By
Bena Ilyas
April 25th, 2024
The asset management company noted that its ETFs ARKQ and ARKK, which target autonomous technology and space exploration, made the purchase.
Asset management company Ark Invest has been buying up stock in Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKB) over the last two days. The company is back into investing in space SPACs after it sold its positions in American spaceflight company Virgin Galactic (NYSE: SPCE). Ark Invest’s space exploration exchange-traded funds (ETFs) sold the concluding shares it owned in Virgin Galactic in May 2021. The ARKX fund sold about 672,000 shares, causing the spaceflight company to plunge 6% on the news.
After a break from space SPAC, Ark Invest is back- but this time, for Rocket Lab. Founded in 2006, Rocket Lab provides launch services and is a public American-New Zealand aerospace manufacturer. While it is based in the US, a chunk of its activities happen in New Zealand. However, it recently revealed plans to expand its US presence with launches, testing, and manufacturing. Now that Ark Invest has stocked up, Rocket Lab US presence is gradually expanding as planned.
Ark Invest Stocks Up in Rocket Lab
The asset management company noted that its ETFs ARKQ and ARKK, which target autonomous technology and space exploration, made the purchase. The funds bought around 729,000 shares of Rocket Lab on the 26th and 27th of September. Although Ark Invest currently has a small portion in Rocket Lab, the purchase marks a re-entry into space SPAC for the asset management company. Separately, both ARKQ and ARKK have significant stakes in satellite communications company Iridium. Iridium recently signed a launch contract with Elon Musk’s SpaceX for Iridium-9.
Ark Invest invested in Rocket Lab shortly after the launch service provider’s Investor Day in New York. During the event, the company updated investors on its Electron and Neutron rockets and space systems business. Specifically, Rock Lab mentioned that its first launch from Virginia’s Wallops, which has been in the works, is set to finally come to pass in December. The company also unveiled early hardware and talked more about Neutron rockets.
At after-hours trading, Rocket Lab stock is up 1.37% to $4.4400. The company has shed almost 73% in the last twelve months and64.33% since the year started. RKLB has also declined nearly 17% over the past month. However, the aerospace manufacturer and launch service provider gas surged 15.57% in the last three months. It has also grown 1.62% in the last five days.
Not long ago, Ark Invest’s CEO Cathie Wood claimed SEC influenced the company to sell its Coinbase shares. The CEO mentioned that the company dropped Coinbase shares after the Commission named it an unregistered asset. Ark Invest sold 1.41 million shares in Coinbase worth $75 million on the 26th of July.