SpaceX Stock Drops Below Its $135 IPO Price
SpaceX shares slipped below their $135 IPO price for the first time since the company’s blockbuster public debut in June.
On Wednesday, SpaceX stock sank 2% to a low of $132.75. It marks a 41% drop from a high of $225.64 hit shortly after the stock started trading last month.
The stock’s tumble below its IPO price comes just over a month after SpaceX’s record-breaking June 12 debut, which raised $85.7 billion and briefly propelled the company to a market value of more than $2 trillion.
From the outset, the space tech company polarized investors. Bulls said the company deserved a premium for its dominance in launch services and Starlink. Skeptics questioned its rich valuation, governance structure, and whether investors were paying today for years of future growth.
The stock’s slide below its IPO price comes as Wall Street reassesses some of this year’s hottest listings and debates whether enthusiasm for AI-linked companies has pushed valuations beyond what near-term fundamentals can support.
SpaceX is among several of this year’s most-hyped stock market debuts that have stumbled after their initial surge. Korean memory-chip maker SK Hynix’s US-listed shares have also given up much of their early gains as investors have grown more selective.
SpaceX’s decline also comes ahead of its first post-IPO lockup expirations, which could increase the stock’s public float if insiders choose to sell eligible shares.
The company has enjoyed an overwhelmingly bullish reception from Wall Street. After SpaceX’s post-IPO quiet period ended, an overwhelming number of analysts rated the stock a buy.
A handful of bears say the stock still has a lot to prove.
“For me to become more bullish, I need to see growth actually begin to materialize, or begin to see them talk about the growth in a way that’s not just speculative,” Keith Snyder, a CFRA Research analyst, told BI’s Samuel O’Brient.
“All we have is hope right now but hope isn’t a business strategy,” added Snyder, who has a sell rating on the stock.
