SpaceX bulls are back betting on huge, fast gains as Rocket Lab surges

SpaceX shares rebounded 7% on Monday, climbing to their highest level since last Tuesday after a 35% pullback from the post-IPO high, while options trading tilted sharply toward calls. By midday, about 500,000 options contracts had changed hands, putting activity on pace for roughly half the daily average since options began trading on June 15.

The combination of a share-price bounce and call-heavy flow suggests traders were returning to the name even as overall activity cooled from the initial burst after options launched.

The strongest factual signal came from the options mix rather than the raw volume. Cited brokerage-platform data showed traders buying more than four times as many calls as puts, while total call volume was about double put volume.

That skew is a useful read on positioning in the options market, but it is not, by itself, proof of broad conviction across all investors or a guarantee that the stock’s rebound will persist.

The structure of the trading points to a short time horizon. Seven of the 10 most-active contracts were calls, and nine of the 10 were set to expire on Thursday. That concentration in short-dated contracts is a factual sign that much of the activity was focused on the next few sessions rather than on a long holding period.

Any conclusion about trader intent beyond that — for example, whether buyers were chasing momentum, expressing a directional view, or pairing the calls with other positions — remains interpretation.

Two developments were in the background of the move, though the evidence behind them is not equally strong. Rocket Lab agreed to acquire Iridium in a reported $8 billion deal, a transaction that helped refocus attention on the satellite and space sector.

Separately, there was market talk that SpaceX could pursue a mobile-carrier acquisition, but that remained unverified speculation rather than a confirmed corporate action.

Those developments may have contributed to the day’s mood, but the trading data do not establish a clean cause-and-effect link for the 7% rise. What is clear is that the rebound coincided with renewed appetite for upside exposure in the options market.

In practical terms, that can matter because heavy interest in near-term calls can add sensitivity to further price moves, especially if dealers adjust hedges around those positions, though the size of any such effect is uncertain.

The near-term setup is therefore straightforward but fragile. If SpaceX holds its recent gains and interest in space-related equities stays elevated, call demand could remain firm even without returning to the peak volumes seen just after options began trading.

That would support the view that the stock is regaining momentum, at least tactically, after the sharp post-IPO retreat.

The risks are just as visible in the same data. Options volume was running below the recent average, which suggests the rebound was not accompanied by a fresh surge of broad participation, and the heavy concentration in Thursday expiries means many bullish positions will face a quick test. If sector enthusiasm fades, the acquisition talk goes nowhere,

or the shares fail to build on Monday’s advance, that call-heavy positioning could unwind as quickly as it formed.

What the market is showing, then, is less a settled verdict on long-term value than a renewed willingness to bet on a fast upside move. The share rebound and the call-put imbalance indicate that bulls have re-entered the trade, but mainly through instruments that lose value quickly if momentum stalls.

Whether that turns into a more durable recovery will depend less on rumor-driven heat than on follow-through in the stock and any confirmed strategic developments around the company or the wider space sector.

Published at 2026-06-29T21:00:43.731531+00:00 UTC

Related Symbols

• RKLB — Rocket Lab
• Selection note: Rocket Lab is the only directly tradable company in the candidate list central to the story, with its surge and Iridium deal helping drive renewed enthusiasm around the space/satellite theme.

References

• CNBC
• Bloomberg