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Anthropic hasn't priced its IPO yet. Direxion already has a plan for the second trading day after it does.

On Oct. 29, the New York-based ETF issuer announced plans for two funds: the Direxion Daily Anthropic Bull 2X ETF (ANTO) and the Direxion Daily Anthropic Bear 2X ETF (ANTD). ANTO will seek 200% of the daily performance of Anthropic's Class A common stock, and ANTD will seek 200% of the inverse, before fees and expenses.

Direxion expects both funds to begin trading on the first trading day after Anthropic's shares start trading. That timing is subject to SEC effectiveness of the funds' registration and to Anthropic completing its offering. The funds have not launched and cannot be sold until then.

The announcement followed Anthropic's public S-1 filing. The maker of the Claude AI models has applied to list on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol ANT. Its filing reported $16.3 billion in revenue for the first half of 2026, up from $1.2 billion a year earlier. The price range and offering size have not been set.

"Anthropic's S-1 moves this IPO from anticipation to action, and traders are already focused on how they will express a view," said Mo Sparks, Direxion's Chief Product Officer.

The Firm That Put The "X" In 3X

Direxion's knack for timing goes back to its biggest bet. The firm started in 1997 as Potomac Funds, a mutual fund shop focused on leveraged and inverse index strategies. In 2006, it rebranded as Direxion, with the "X" a nod to the multiplier at the heart of its funds.

Then, in November 2008, with markets in the middle of the financial crisis, Direxion entered the ETF business with something nobody else offered: ETFs seeking 300% of an index's daily performance, or 300% of its inverse. The first lineup included tickers traders still know today, such as the Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X ETF (FAS) and Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X ETF (NYSE:FAZ) on financials and the Direxion Daily Small Cap Bull 3X ETF (NYSE:TNA) and Direxion Daily Small Cap Bear 3X ETF (NYSE:TZA) on small caps.

The launch landed. According to the firm's then-president, the first ETFs gathered more than $800 million in their first five weeks. Competitors followed with their own 3X products within months.

Nearly two decades later, Direxion reports about $70.8 billion in assets under management as of Sept. 30, 2026.

From Indexes To Single Stocks

Direxion's lineup still includes the broad index and sector funds it built its name on, such as the Direxion Daily Technology Bull 3X ETF (NYSE:TECL), which held about $6.6 billion in assets as of Oct. 29, 2026. But its fastest-moving franchise now is single-stock leveraged and inverse ETFs, which deliver a multiple of one company's daily move.

The flagship is Tesla, through the Direxion Daily TSLA Bull 2X (NASDAQ:TSLL) and Direxion Daily TSLA Bear 1X ETF (NASDAQ:TSLS). Nvidia, Microsoft and Google have their own pairs. And 2026 has been the year Direxion moved into newly public companies.

The One Thing Every Trader Needs To Understand

A 2X single-stock ETF does not promise twice the stock's return over a week, a month or a year. It seeks twice the return, net of fees, for one day, then resets for the following trading day. Over longer periods, compounding can push results well away from a simple 2X, in either direction.

A hypothetical two-day example shows why, before fees and expenses. Suppose a stock rises 10% one day and falls 10% the next. The stock ends roughly flat, yet both the bull and the bear fund lose 4%. That is the volatility drag Direxion's own disclosures describe: the funds can lose money even when the stock is flat, and the bull fund can lose money even when the stock rises over a period longer than a day.

Compounding can also work in a trader's favor. If the stock instead rises 5% on each of two days, it gains 10.25%, while the 2X bull fund gains 21%, slightly more than double.

The lesson is the same either way. These are tools for short-term, actively monitored positions, which matters especially around a new listing, when single-day swings can be large.

Built For Traders With A View

Direxion is explicit about its audience. Its leveraged and inverse ETFs are intended only for investors who understand the risks of seeking leveraged results and who plan to actively monitor and manage their positions. These are not buy-and-hold products.

That audience has grown as single-stock funds have spread. A trader with a short-term view on Tesla's earnings or Nvidia's next product cycle can express it in either direction through a regular brokerage account, without options or margin.

To help traders understand what they are buying, Direxion runs a Leveraged and Inverse ETF Education Center. It includes brochures, videos and a self-paced online course on how daily leverage, compounding and single-stock funds work. Its content hub, the Xchange, has published explainers on the Anthropic funds and on how traders can prepare before an IPO lists.

What To Watch

The next milestones are outside Direxion's control: Anthropic setting a price range and completing its offering, and the SEC declaring the ANTO and ANTD registration effective. If both happen, Direxion says the funds would trade from the first session after Anthropic's debut.

For a firm that built its name launching 3X ETFs in the middle of a crisis, being ready on day one is the point. For traders, the more important point is understanding the daily reset before placing that first trade.

Learn more at direxion.com.

Featured image from Shutterstock.

An investor should carefully consider a Fund's investment objective, risks, charges, and expenses before investing. A Fund's prospectus and summary prospectus contain this and other information about the Direxion Shares. To obtain a Fund's prospectus and summary prospectus call 866-476-7523 or visit our website at direxion.com. A Fund's prospectus and summary prospectus should be read carefully before investing.

Investing in the funds involves a high degree of risk. Unlike traditional ETFs, or even other leveraged and/or inverse ETFs, these leveraged and/or inverse single-stock ETFs track the price of a single stock rather than an index, eliminating the benefits of diversification. Leveraged and inverse ETFs pursue daily leveraged investment objectives, which means they are riskier than alternatives which do not use leverage. They seek daily goals and should not be expected to track the underlying stock's performance over periods longer than one day. They are not suitable for all investors and should be utilized only by investors who understand leverage risk and who actively manage their investments. The Funds will lose money if the underlying stock's performance is flat, and it is possible that the Bull Fund will lose money even if the underlying stock's performance increases, and the Bear Fund will lose money even if the underlying stock's performance decreases, over a period longer than a single day. Investing in the Funds is not equivalent to investing directly in the underlying stock.

Direxion Shares Risks - An investment in a Fund involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Each Fund is non-diversified and includes risks associated with a Fund concentrating its investments in a particular security, industry, sector, or geographic region which can result in increased volatility. A Fund's investments in derivatives such as futures contracts and swaps may pose risks in addition to, and greater than, those associated with directly investing in securities or other investments, including imperfect correlations with underlying investments or the Fund's other portfolio holdings, higher price volatility and lack of availability. As a result, the value of an investment in a Fund may change quickly and without warning.

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