Dan Ives Says SpaceX Looks Expensive, But Elon Musk-Led SPCX Could Become 'One of the Best AI Plays'

Wedbush’s Global Head of Tech Research, Dan Ives, said Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: SPCX ) could become a major artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure company, arguing that investors should view the newly public Elon Musk -led firm as more than a traditional space business.

Ives Calls SpaceX A Major AI Play SpaceX is "much more of an AI play" than a traditional space company and is well positioned to become a major hyperscaler, Ives said while speaking on CNBC’s "Fast Money" on Tuesday.

He added that Wedbush values SpaceX using a "sum of the parts" approach, with AI compute forming a major part of its long-term investment thesis.

Ives acknowledged that SpaceX looks expensive based on current revenue.

But he said execution over the next two to three years could change how investors view the company. "If they execute, I could argue this becomes one of the best AI plays in the market," Ives said. "That’s why we are bullish here.

I think you got to see around the corner, rather than just looking at valuation over the next six to 12 months." Wedbush Sees Demand Fueling Tech Rally Looking toward the second half of the year, Ives said Wedbush’s supply chain checks in Taiwan and Korea point to accelerating demand, which he expects to support hyperscalers during earnings season.

Read Also: Elon Musk Says He Would Be 'Disappointed' If SpaceX Does Not ‘Significantly Exceed’ These Bullish Revenue Milestones He said that momentum should later spread to software, naming Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: PLTR ), Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT ), Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL ) and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG ) (NASDAQ: GOOGL ) as areas of focus. "I still believe chip names continue to go higher, just because the demand and supply is 12 to 1," Ives said.

He added that memory remains "foundational to everything we’re seeing," and said Wedbush remains "very bullish" on the second half.

SpaceX Valuation Debate Keeps Heating Up Ives on Tuesday initiated coverage of SpaceX with an "Outperform" rating and a $190 price target, implying roughly 16% upside from the stock’s prior close.

His comments follow a sharp debate over SpaceX’s valuation.

Evercore founder and senior chairman Roger Altman warned that traditional models struggle to value SpaceX and IPO-bound Anthropic because of their scale, AI exposure and uncertain long-term cash flows.

Musk, meanwhile, replied to a technology commentator on X on Tuesday, saying short-term economic setbacks are inevitable but that AI and robotics would drive powerful long-term growth.

Price Action: SpaceX, which made its historic market debut on June 12, is up 6.16% so far.

On Tuesday, the stock closed at $170.86, down 4.06%, and gained 0.89% in after-hours trading.

According to Edge Rankings, SpaceX stock fails to provide a favorable price trend in the Short, Medium and Long term.

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