Ark Invest and Cathie Wood have bet on several space-related companies over the years. The ETF company also launched its own space ETF in 2021 to tackle the growing industry. One space-related company was recently added to two Ark Invest ETFs this week.
What Happened: A new position in Rocket Lab USA Inc (NASDAQ:RKLB) was taken by the Ark Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF (BATS:ARKQ) and the Ark Space Exploration & Innovation ETF (BATS:ARKX) this week.
Rocket Lab, which went public via SPAC merger, is one of the largest commercial space exploration companies, trailing only SpaceX in terms of rocket launches.
Ark Invest bought 571,467 shares of RKLB on Monday and Tuesday for the ARKQ ETF. The purchases make Rocket Lab the 37th largest position at $2.39 million and 0.25% of assets.
Ark Invest bought 157,470 shares of RKLB on Monday and Tuesday for the ARKX ETF. The purchases make Rocket Lab the 35th largest position at $660 million and 0.25% of assets.
Related Link: Analyst Rating For Rocket Lab (RKLB)
Why It’s Important: A general theme of Cathie Wood and Ark Invest is to find disruptive and innovative companies. The space sector is expected to continue its expansion and companies such as Rocket Lab and SpaceX helping grow the sector.
Rocket Lab had its first successful launch in 2018 and completed more than 20 flights in its history including seven in 2022. The company has missions booked for trips to Mars and Venus as well.
Like SpaceX, Rocket Lab is also hoping its reusable rocket program can help boost the number of launches and associated costs.
Rocket Lab recently held an investor day and shared updates on several programs moving forward. The company’s Electron program is among the leaders in small satellite launches with more than 30 missions completed.
The company highlighted several future missions including a launch in December and a new contract with a confidential customer for the first quarter of 2023.
Rocket Lab’s Space Systems segment highlighted its upcoming planned interplanetary missions to Mars and Venus.
Ark Invest is now investing in a leading publicly traded rocket company, despite it being referred to as the second-best rocket launch company or number two behind SpaceX, which is not public. While Ark Invest has only bought shares on two occasions, its ETFs could continue to accumulate shares and make a big bet on the future of space via Rocket Lab.
RKLB Price Action: Rocket Lab shares were up 4.53% to $4.38 at market close Wednesday versus a 52-week range of $3.53 to $16.97.
Photo: Dima Zel via Shutterstock
