SpaceX Is ‘Much More Of An AI Play’ Than A Space Company, Says Dan Ives — Here’s The Bull Case

Wedbush’s Dan Ives says SpaceX could become a major AI-driven hyperscaler, while remaining bullish on semiconductors and select software stocks.

• Wedbush initiated coverage on SpaceX with an ‘Outperform’ rating, citing long-term AI-driven upside.
• Ives expects strength across software names including Microsoft, Oracle, Alphabet and Palantir as AI adoption broadens.
• The analyst said Nvidia remains the dominant AI chip supplier and doesn't expect custom chips to become a meaningful competitive threat for several years.

Wedbush’s Global Head of Tech Research, Dan Ives, said the firm sees SpaceX (SPCX) as a potential artificial intelligence-driven infrastructure play with the ability to evolve into a major hyperscaler. The firm recently initiated coverage of the Elon Musk company with an ‘Outperform’ rating and a $190 price target, implying around 16% upside from the SPCX stock’s last close.

The SPCX stock ended Tuesday’s session with a gain of 4.06% and then added 0.85% in after-hours trading, at the time of writing.

Why Wedbush Sees SPCX As An AI Play

SpaceX (SPCX) 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. Ives added that Wedbush views SpaceX using a “sum of the parts” valuation, with AI compute forming a major part of its long-term investment thesis.

He acknowledged that the company appears expensive based on current revenue but added that, if it executes over the next two to three years, “this becomes one of the best AI plays in the market.”

“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,” Ives said.

Ives Remains Bullish On AI Into The Second Half

Looking ahead at 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 act as a catalyst for hyperscalers during the earnings season.

He said the momentum should eventually spread to software, highlighting names such as Palantir Technologies (PLTR), Microsoft (MSFT), Oracle (ORCL) and Alphabet (GOOGL) as areas of focus. Ives also expects semiconductor stocks to continue moving higher, saying demand continues to outstrip supply by a wide margin.

“I still believe chip names continue to go higher, just because the demand and supply is 12 to 1,” he said, adding that memory remains “foundational to everything we’re seeing,” and that Wedbush remains “very bullish” on the second half.

Ives Cautious On Adobe, Bullish on Nvidia

While constructive on much of the software sector, Ives said he remains cautious on Adobe (ADBE), stating that the company needs major strategic changes, such as acquisitions or divestitures, before sentiment improves. 

On Nvidia (NVDA), Ives stayed very bullish, saying the market is yet to fully appreciate the company’s long-term opportunity in physical AI. He also downplayed the competitive threat from custom AI chips in the near term, saying he does not expect them to meaningfully challenge Nvidia’s GPUs for another three to four years.

SPCX Stock: What Stocktwits Retail Sentiment Says

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for SPCX was ‘bearish,’ unchanged in the last 24 hours. Over the past 30 days, message volume around the stock has surged 4,957%.

The SPCX stock is up nearly 14% since it listed.

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.<