Space exploration and artificial intelligence (AI) company SpaceX will be officially added to the Nasdaq-100 index before the U.S. stock market opens on July 7 (local time).

Actual buying by index funds is expected to be concentrated at the market close on July 6.

The Nasdaq-100 is a benchmark index consisting of the 100 largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq, including Nvidia, Apple, and Amazon.

SpaceX, which listed on the Nasdaq on June 12, will join the Nasdaq-100 less than a month after its debut.

This follows Nasdaq's introduction of a new "fast-track" rule that allows index inclusion for major initial public offerings (IPOs) after just 15 trading days.

Global assets under management tracking the Nasdaq-100 exceed 800 billion dollars (approximately 1,220 trillion won).

The assets under management for the Invesco QQQ, a representative exchange-traded fund (ETF), alone amount to approximately 500 billion dollars (approximately 763 trillion won).

According to U.S. financial information outlet ETF.com, based on J.P. Morgan estimates, if SpaceX is applied to the asset scale of the Invesco QQQ, it is calculated that approximately 4.3 billion dollars (approximately 6.6 trillion won) in buying will occur from the QQQ alone.

When combining funds tracking the Nasdaq-100 and the Russell 1000, the mechanical buying volume resulting from the index inclusion is estimated to reach between 22 billion and 27 billion dollars (approximately 33.6 trillion to 41.2 trillion won).

While SpaceX's weight in the index is typically expected to be between 0.47% and 0.70%, its actual weight could be higher due to the "float factor" rule newly introduced by Nasdaq for massive IPOs with low float ratios.

SpaceX's float ratio is only 4% to 5%.

After its listing, SpaceX shares soared to as high as 225 dollars during intraday trading but have recently been trading in a range between 149 and 163 dollars.

According to financial information firm TipRanks, the 12-month average target price for SpaceX by analysts is 210.86 dollars, indicating an upside potential of approximately 30% from the current stock price.

Four analysts issued buy ratings, four issued hold ratings, and one issued a sell rating.

Andrew Beale, an analyst at Arete Research who holds a bullish view, predicted that next-generation Starlink satellites would open new growth opportunities in the suburban broadband market.

On the other hand, some analysts pointed out that Starship, which is still in the development stage, could hinder the next-generation Starlink business.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)