SEOUL, June 19 (AJP) - South Korean retail investors can't get enough of SpaceX, pouring another $1 billion into the stock as money floods out of semiconductor plays and into Wall Street's hottest new trade.
According to data from Korea Securities Depository as of Friday, Korean investors purchased a net $346.9 million worth of SpaceX shares on Monday alone, equivalent to about 528.8 billion won. Gross purchases reached $376.6 million, while selling totaled just $29.7 million.
The buying spree came on top of the record-breaking debut session on June 12, when Korean investors snapped up nearly $796 million worth of shares.
In just two trading sessions, their cumulative net purchases reached 1.74 trillion won ($1.14 billion).
That was enough to keep SpaceX firmly at the top of the overseas stock buying rankings among Korean investors. Net purchases were more than twice the amount invested in Alphabet, the second-most bought stock during the same period.
Shares of SpaceX have rewarded that enthusiasm so far. After pricing its initial public offering at $135, the stock soared 19.3 percent on its first trading day and gained another 19.6 percent in the following session. The two-day rally pushed the shares above $190, representing a gain of more than 40 percent from the IPO price.
The craze has rapidly lifted the company's standing among Korean investors. The stock is now the 33rd-largest foreign holding, ranking just behind Meta Platforms and ahead of the Roundhill Memory ETF, a semiconductor-focused fund heavily invested in Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.
During the same period, Korean investors dumped some of their semiconductor investments. They sold a net $1.04 billion worth of SOXL, a leveraged ETF that tracks U.S. semiconductor stocks, and also unloaded $105.2 million worth of Micron shares.
Market participants say some of the money that once chased the AI-driven semiconductor rally is now flowing into the newly listed aerospace company.
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