These space stocks are not SpaceX—but they’re blasting off this week in the wake of IPO fever

SpaceX priced its initial public offering on Thursday, June 12, with an expected listing on the Nasdaq today, driving significant gains in the share prices of other space industry companies. The excitement surrounding SpaceX's IPO, which set a record valuation of $1.77 trillion, has created a "rising tide lifts all boats" effect for competitors. Rocket Lab (Nasdaq: RKLB) saw its shares close up 9.26% at $114.78 on Thursday, marking a 64.54% year-to-date increase. Virgin Galactic (NYSE: SPCE) experienced a more substantial gain, closing up 21.66% at $5.73 on Thursday, with a year-to-date increase of 78.5%. Other companies benefiting from this surge include Rocket One (Nasdaq: RKTO), which closed up 11.28% at $1.48 and is up 49.49% year-to-date, and AST SpaceMobile (Nasdaq: ASTS), which closed up 11.73% at $97.56 and is up 34.32% year-to-date. Astera Labs (Nasdaq: ALAB) also saw its stock rise, closing up 11.07% at $367.47, with a remarkable 120.89% year-to-date gain. SpaceX announced to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it would offer 555.6 million shares at an opening price of $135 per share, aiming to raise $75 billion after markets open on Friday. The market will be watching to see if SpaceX can sustain this share price throughout the trading day.