Rocket Lab, CoreWeave and Astera Labs Join Nasdaq 100 as SpaceX Completes Record $75 Billion IPO

TLDR

• Rocket Lab, Astera Labs, CoreWeave, Nebius, and Teradyne will join the Nasdaq 100 on June 22
• Rocket Lab stock jumped over 7% in premarket trading after the announcement
• SpaceX raised $75 billion in its IPO, the largest in history, and could join the Nasdaq 100 in as few as 15 trading days
• Five companies — Charter Communications, Cognizant, Insmed, Verisk Analytics, and Zscaler — are being removed
• Over $800 billion in assets track the Nasdaq 100 across more than 200 investment products

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Rocket Lab and four other technology companies are set to join the Nasdaq 100 on June 22, as part of the index’s quarterly rebalancing. The announcement was made after Thursday’s market close by Nasdaq Global Indexes.

The other companies joining are chip maker Astera Labs, cloud-computing firms CoreWeave and Nebius, and chip-testing equipment maker Teradyne.

Rocket Lab shares jumped 7.6% to $123.55 in premarket trading on Friday. Astera Labs rose 4.3%, CoreWeave gained 4.4%, Nebius climbed 5.3%, and Teradyne was up 1.2%.

Rocket Lab USA, Inc., RKLB

Rocket Lab’s stock has risen 352% over the past year. Investors have been buying space stocks in the lead-up to SpaceX going public.

SpaceX IPO Adds Fuel to Space Stocks

SpaceX began trading on the Nasdaq on Friday after pricing its IPO on Thursday. The company raised $75 billion, making it the largest IPO in history. It surpasses Saudi Aramco’s $29.4 billion listing from 2019.

SpaceX’s IPO values the company at roughly $1.8 trillion, or about 35 times sales. Rocket Lab currently trades at nearly 60 times sales, a premium to SpaceX.

That valuation gap could matter. SpaceX may act as a benchmark for the entire space industry, which could put pressure on Rocket Lab’s higher multiple.

Nasdaq changed its rules in late March to allow SpaceX to be fast-tracked into the Nasdaq 100. Under normal rules, companies must wait months after listing. With the new rules, SpaceX could be eligible in as few as 15 trading days.

S&P 500 Takes a Different Path

A similar fast-track approach was considered for the S&P 500, but S&P Dow Jones Indices decided against it last week. The index provider said it would not change its policies to allow SpaceX or other large tech companies to enter earlier than usual or bypass standard financial requirements.

The Nasdaq 100 tracks the 100 largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq. More than 200 investment products tracking the index hold over $800 billion in combined assets.

To make room for the five new additions, five companies are leaving the index. Charter Communications, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Insmed, Verisk Analytics, and Zscaler will be removed.

The changes take effect before the market opens on June 22.

SpaceX’s potential inclusion in the Nasdaq 100 could come shortly after, depending on how quickly it meets the eligibility window under the new fast-track rules.