Major U.S. stock indexes finished Thursday in positive territory, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average advancing 1.86% to 50,848.75, the S&P 500 climbing 1.75% to 7,394.30, and the Nasdaq surging 2.54% to 25,809.66.

The following stocks gained significant attention from retail traders and investors throughout the day:

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:SPCX)

SpaceX set the price of its shares at $135 for its Nasdaq debut on Thursday. The Elon Musk-led company is set to make history with its upcoming IPO, which is expected to be the largest ever, surpassing Saudi Aramco’s 2019 listing. SpaceX plans to sell 555,555,555 shares, raising nearly $75 billion at an approximate $1.75 trillion valuation.

Read Also: Jim Cramer Describes Bitcoin, Gold As 'Bad Money' Getting Dumped For SpaceX — But 'Good Money' Apple And Nvidia Not Spared Either

Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE)

Adobe’s shares dropped 6.25% to close at $218.80, with an intraday high of $232.50 and a low of $218.09. The stock has reached its 52-week low. The stock fell 5.54% to $206.67 in the after-hours trading.

Adobe reported second-quarter results that exceeded expectations, with revenue rising 13% year-over-year to a record $6.62 billion and adjusted earnings of $5.96 per share. The company said AI-driven demand continued to fuel growth, with total annualized recurring revenue reaching $27.1 billion and AI-focused ARR surpassing $500 million after tripling from a year earlier.

Adobe raised its fiscal 2026 outlook, forecasting revenue of $26.5 billion-$26.6 billion and adjusted earnings of $24.35-$24.45 per share. The company also announced that CFO Dan Durn will leave on June 15, with Steve Day appointed interim CFO.

Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. (NYSE:SPCE)

Virgin Galactic’s stock surged 21.66% to $5.73, hitting an intraday high of $6.17 and a low of $4.63. In the after-hours session, the stock climbed 13.26% to $6.49.

Virgin Galactic shares rose as investor enthusiasm surrounding the upcoming SpaceX IPO boosted interest across the broader space sector. Traders appeared to view the company as a publicly traded way to gain exposure to renewed excitement around commercial space technology ahead of SpaceX’s expected market debut.

Analysts projected significant long-term growth for SpaceX, with New Street Research forecasting $195.3 billion in annual revenue by 2030, including contributions from space, connectivity and AI businesses. The firm estimated a 60% compound annual revenue growth rate between 2025 and 2030 and set a price target of $165 per share, above the anticipated IPO price of $135.

AST SpaceMobile Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS)

AST SpaceMobile’s shares climbed 11.73% to $97.56, with a high of $98.10 and a low of $86.92. The shares rose 6.86% to $104.25 in extended trading.

AST SpaceMobile gained attention as enthusiasm surrounding the upcoming SpaceX IPO boosted investor interest in space-related stocks. The company also announced that its BlueBird 8, 9 and 10 satellites are scheduled to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on June 17, with the next-generation satellites expected to deliver nearly double the peak data speeds of its existing spacecraft.

The launch forms part of AST SpaceMobile's plan to have about 45 BlueBird satellites in orbit by the end of 2026. The company said its current Block 1 satellites recently achieved download speeds of 98.9 Mbps directly to standard smartphones, while additional satellites are already in advanced stages of production and assembly.

SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ:SNDK)

SanDisk’s stock increased by 14.50% to close at $1881.51, reaching an intraday high of $1895. The stock gained 1.78% to $1,915 in after-hours trading.

SanDisk shares rose as investor appetite for technology and AI-related stocks remained strong, with the company benefiting from growing demand for high-performance NAND storage and enterprise SSDs used in data centers and cloud infrastructure.

Analysts remained optimistic about the company’s outlook ahead of its Aug. 13 earnings report, forecasting earnings of $33.34 per share on revenue of $8.24 billion, compared with 29 cents per share and $1.9 billion in revenue a year earlier. Several firms recently raised their price targets on the stock, citing continued strength in AI-driven storage demand.

Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings indicate Virgin Galactic stock has a Momentum score in the 20th percentile and a Value score in the 16th percentile.

Read Also: Gene Munster Says SpaceX Has A 'Formidable' Rival In Google, But They Don't Make Rockets And Can't Put A Data Center In Space

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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