The launch of a $280m SpaceX-backing “NASA” exchange traded fund (ETF) in the US has had an unexpected effect in propelling UK tech stock Filtronic to new highs.
Filtronic (FTC), a County Durham based supplier of satellite communication components in which SpaceX has a 15% stake, has soared 44% this month following the launch of the TEMA Space Innovators ETF (NASA) on 30 March.
The fund, which is actively managed by TEMA chief investment officer Yuri Khodjamirian in New York, made Filtronic its sole British top 10 holding, with a 4.7% weighting making it the ETF’s sixth biggest position.
Richard Staveley, manager of Rockwood Strategic (RKW), a top-performing UK smaller companies investment trust, told QuotedData that buying by NASA had pushed Filtronic to a record high of 296p on Friday, although the shares have slipped back to 274p.
Staveley, who first invested in Filtronic around three years ago at 12p per share, held 5.6% in the company at 31 March. Speaking on the sidelines of the Master Investor show in London last Saturday, the fund manager said buying by NASA had pushed Filtronic’s valuation to five times sales which he viewed as too rich, saying he had been “happy” to offload some of the position in his “20-bagger” investment.
Filtronic shares have roughly doubled since last August when the company won a £47.3m contract with SpaceX.
NASA’s launch was timed to take advantage of investor interest in space technology on the back of the Artemis II flight around the moon. Its successful fund raising has helped TEMA’s funds under management to pass $2bn less than three years after the company launched its first ETF. It has 10 including NASA.
Interest in NASA has been heightened by its 10% weighting to SpaceX, Elon Musk’s $1.25trn rocket, satellite and AI group preparing to float with a target valuation of $1.75trn-$2trn. The stake in the private company is held through a special purpose vehicle (SPV).
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