SpaceX IPO hype has traders flocking to this mid-cap stock

Excitement about the biggest IPO of all time is reaching fever pitch, and investors are literally getting impatient.

Volume increases in Nasdaq-listed options echo starThe $35 billion Colorado-based networking company owns an estimated 3% of SpaceX shares, which it acquired in September in a deal that gave wireless spectrum to Starlink.

Trading activity on Wednesday was more than three times the daily average over the past month, according to data from Cboe LiveVol; More than 60,000 option contracts were traded for a total premium of $50 million.

The number of calls traded on the name was nearly five times that of puts, according to ThinkOrSwim data, but nearly three times as many calls were sold compared to purchased calls. This may reflect traders hedging their bullish bets through spreads as the stock is in the midst of an 11% pullback last month, despite being up 650% in the past year.

SpaceX’s spectrum purchase last year allows it to begin building and deploying upgraded, laser-linked satellites that the company says will increase the capacity of its cell network “more than 100-fold,” Reuters previously reported.

SpaceX will aim to raise $75 billion at a $1.77 trillion valuation at a $135 share price, according to an IPO filing the company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Wednesday.