Cathie Wood Acquires SpaceX Stake While Michael Burry Bets Against Palantir—What Their Moves Signal

Key Points

Only a handful of money managers attract close investor attention. Cathie Wood leads Ark Invest, which runs several exchange‑traded funds and related products, and she rose to prominence for her early backing of Tesla and her focus on tech firms poised to disrupt sectors. Michael Burry became widely known after Michael Lewis’s book The Big Short and its film adaptation highlighted his prescient short of subprime mortgage bonds ahead of the 2008‑09 financial crisis.

Their investment styles diverge sharply. Wood frequently ignores lofty valuations, buying shares at premium prices because she trusts the long‑term narrative of a business. Burry, conversely, seeks to profit from overvaluation by purchasing put options. Below is their current take on two high‑profile stocks.

Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood. Image source: Getty Images.

Cathie Wood and SpaceX

Wood has held a position in Space Exploration Technologies (NASDAQ: SPCX) since 2023, when the firm was still private. Purchasing one of her funds gave retail investors an early avenue to gain exposure to SpaceX equity.

She is a steadfast supporter of Elon Musk’s ventures, a view reinforced by her original Tesla thesis. Wood once set a $4,000 price target on Tesla shares, arguing that the company is far more than an automaker.

“Tesla isn’t an auto company,” she said in 2021. “It’s a technology, battery, robotics, artificial intelligence, and software‑as‑a‑service business. Conventional valuation methods therefore miss the mark.” She made these remarks before AI became the disruptive force it is today, following the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022.

She applies the same lens to SpaceX, seeing it as more than a launch provider.

“We believe it stands at the forefront of one of history’s most consequential technological shifts, constructing the critical infrastructure that will power future connectivity, intelligence, and economic activity,” she explained.

Wood’s strategy is to invest in opportunities before they are widely recognized, willing to look beyond standard benchmarks and challenge prevailing opinions. Regarding valuation, she has described Tesla as a deep‑value holding because of the technological advances she anticipates.

Image source: Getty Images.

Michael Burry and Palantir

Burry follows a markedly different approach. He generally employs discounted cash‑flow analysis to estimate the annual return a stock can deliver based on projected long‑term cash flows, then derives the current fair value from that figure.

He is presently shorting shares of Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR). Burry does not view Palantir’s platform as revolutionary and believes investors are paying too much for it. He joins a cohort of investors who fear that many SaaS offerings could be rendered obsolete by AI agents. Burry has called Palantir “wildly overvalued,” and his models suggest it should trade around $50 per share, whereas the market price is near $180.

Burry initially bought put options on Palantir stock in late 2025 and continues to hold them.

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