Leif Abraham, co-CEO of financial platform Public, told CNBC on Monday that SpaceX’s debut trading day was unlike anything his platform had ever seen. 

Let that sink in. Six of the most heavily traded names in modern market history, pooled together, couldn’t match the sheer retail frenzy directed at one newly listed company.

The numbers back it up. On Friday, SpaceX’s first day of trading, over 522 million shares exchanged hands on Nasdaq alone, per Benzinga Pro data — a debut-day turnover figure that shattered previous records and generated an estimated $33 billion in dollar volume. 

A Mint report noted that SpaceX net buying accounted for roughly 4% of all single-stock retail turnover that Friday, running at 3.5 times the pace of runner-up Nvidia.

The backdrop was equally staggering. SpaceX raised $75 billion at $135 per share — the largest IPO in history, eclipsing Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.‘s (NYSE:BABA) $22 billion raise in 2014. 

Shares opened at $150, hit an intraday high of $176.52, and closed at $160.95, a 19% pop from the IPO price that vaulted the company’s market cap past $2.1 trillion.

The retail enthusiasm mirrors the IPO allocation strategy: SpaceX reserved a record 20% of IPO shares for individual investors, according to Mint, signaling CEO Elon Musk‘s deliberate effort to democratize access. 

Individual investors had placed over $100 billion in orders ahead of the offering, per Bloomberg, a demand figure that dwarfed available supply by multiples.

The retail frenzy doesn’t guarantee smooth sailing ahead and valuation discipline will eventually catch up with even the most beloved names.

For now, though, retail investors continue to pile into SpaceX. 

SPCX Stock Price Activity: SpaceX stock was up 15.35% at $185.65 at the time of publication Monday, according to Benzinga Pro.

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