A shift is underway in retail trading. Individual investors have dumped stocks including Micron, Advanced Micro Devices and Marvell, according to CNBC, as they rotate capital into SpaceX ahead of its highly anticipated market debut. The move marks a sharp departure from the AI-focused semiconductor names that dominated retail portfolios for much of the past year.
The rotation reflects a growing appetite for SpaceX, a private space-technology company with a cult following among retail traders. Its stock will begin trading soon, with the company expected to join the Nasdaq 100 imminently, according to MarketWatch. That index is already being reshuffled to include another space firm, Rocket Lab, alongside four AI-related companies.
The broader stock market rallied sharply Thursday, with the Dow Jones index gaining 929 points after President Trump canceled planned strikes on Iran, as reported by Investor's Business Daily. That geopolitical reprieve added fuel to a market already buzzing with AI transitions and space-sector enthusiasm.
Meanwhile, the AI trade is evolving. Bank of America double-upgraded a chipmaker tied to the agentic AI trend, and financier Josh Brown says the market is moving from early chip leaders toward AI customers. MediaTek shares are on track for their best quarter ever as investors bet on its pivot to AI chips, per Bloomberg.
A counter argument: some analysts warn SpaceX's valuation may be stretched given its limited public earnings history. The shift from proven AI winners to a pre-IPO space bet carries risk of volatility.