SpaceX went public in June 2026, and the stock took off. But not for long.
Since then, shares have dropped more than 40% from their highest price. They recently traded at $115.65. That kind of swing makes a lot of investors nervous - especially the high-net-worth kinds who buy SpaceX stock in the first place.
When a stock gets that volatile, people start looking for ways to stay in the game without risking everything. That is where Wall Street steps in.
Structured notes are basically financial products that mix a bond with an options contract. In plain English: you get some protection if the stock falls, but you also give up some of the upside if it soars.
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Right now, more than 40 different SpaceX-linked notes have been issued. At least five banks - Morgan Stanley, Marex Group, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and RBC Capital Markets - have filed to offer them.
The details vary. One Morgan Stanley note protects against losses up to 50%. If SpaceX stock is flat or higher when the note matures in early 2028, you get a fixed payout of 40%. Same deal if the stock is down but less than 50%.
A Marex note goes a different route. It offers monthly interest of at least 1.8%, no matter what the stock does, and it matures in nine months. But the protection only covers you down to a 35% decline. If the stock falls below that, you take the full hit.
Another product comes from GraniteShares, which has filed to offer an autocallable ETF linked to SpaceX. That is a type of note that can be automatically cashed out early if the stock hits certain levels.
The catch: Some of these notes cap your upside on a highly volatile company. Aaron Brachman, executive managing director of Washington Wealth Group, put it bluntly: "It's like, why not just buy the stock in that instance?"
When a stock gets lots of public attention and swings up and down, banks can make good money packaging that risk into notes. SpaceX is the perfect example.
According to Sarah Laconte, who heads US structured product sales at Marex, this launch was one of the fastest ever for a structured product tied to a new security. She pointed out that volatile stocks and AI-related trades are common drivers for these notes.
Brachman expects more banks to jump in. "As the options market continues to get more liquid around any new issue stock, the more likely it is that other banks will feel comfortable pricing the risk associated with it," he said.
The more liquid the options market gets, the easier it is for banks to figure out how much to charge for the protection. And the more volatile the stock, the more investors want that protection.
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