SpaceX Stock Drops Below $135 IPO Price Ahead of Starship Launch

SpaceX shares dipped slightly above $135 on Wednesday, marking a decline from the $135 benchmark set by CEO Elon Musk and the company prior to its massive June 12 IPO, which raised nearly $86 billion.
Throughout the day, the stock traded mostly below its IPO price, briefly falling under $133 per share before recovering to close at $135.27.
This Wednesday’s drop continues a steady downward trend since the company’s public debut. Initially, SpaceX’s stock surged past $200 in the days following its listing, briefly valuing the firm at levels comparable to tech giants like Amazon and Microsoft. Since that peak, however, the shares have lost value almost every week.
Some of this volatility stems from the fact that only 4% of SpaceX’s total shares are available for trading on the Nasdaq. This limited “float,” combined with intense public scrutiny, has triggered sharp price swings during the first month of trading.
Investors also seem to be tempering their enthusiasm for CEO Elon Musk’s ambitious vision, reflecting a broader cooling of tech stocks over the past month. In addition to declining share prices, bonds issued by SpaceX following the IPO are also underperforming.
A prolonged slump in SpaceX’s stock could have broader implications, as the share price serves as a barometer for investor confidence in Musk’s lofty (and literal) promises regarding the company’s capabilities. Furthermore, SpaceX’s IPO has paved the way for other major tech firms, such as Anthropic and OpenAI, to consider going public. Both companies have filed confidentially for IPOs. Although neither has announced a launch date, SpaceX’s stock performance is being closely monitored to gauge the potential success of these upcoming offerings.
SpaceX faces another early test of its stock’s resilience this Thursday with the first Starship rocket test launch since the IPO. Starship remains under active development, making it susceptible to failures—a consequence of SpaceX’s “fly, fail, fix” methodology.
This will be the first Starship flight since a booster failure occurred in May. Once again, the company does not plan to attempt recovery of either the Starship booster or the upper stage, opting instead to simulate a landing in the Gulf of Mexico. Consequently, both components of the Starship system will likely explode regardless of whether the flight plan proceeds without issues.
This story has been updated to include the closing price.
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SpaceX shares dipped slightly above $135 on Wednesday, marking a decline from the $135 benchmark set by CEO Elon Musk and the company prior to its massive June 12 IPO, which raised nearly $86 billion.
Throughout the day, the stock traded mostly below its IPO price, briefly falling under $133 per share before recovering to close at $135.27.
This Wednesday’s drop continues a steady downward trend since the company’s public debut. Initially, SpaceX’s stock surged past $200 in the days following its listing, briefly valuing the firm at levels comparable to tech giants like Amazon and Microsoft. Since that peak, however, the shares have lost value almost every week.
Some of this volatility stems from the fact that only 4% of SpaceX’s total shares are available for trading on the Nasdaq. This limited “float,” combined with intense public scrutiny, has triggered sharp price swings during the first month of trading.
Investors also seem to be tempering their enthusiasm for CEO Elon Musk’s ambitious vision, reflecting a broader cooling of tech stocks over the past month. In addition to declining share prices, bonds issued by SpaceX following the IPO are also underperforming.
A prolonged slump in SpaceX’s stock could have broader implications, as the share price serves as a barometer for investor confidence in Musk’s lofty (and literal) promises regarding the company’s capabilities. Furthermore, SpaceX’s IPO has paved the way for other major tech firms, such as Anthropic and OpenAI, to consider going public. Both companies have filed confidentially for IPOs. Although neither has announced a launch date, SpaceX’s stock performance is being closely monitored to gauge the potential success of these upcoming offerings.
SpaceX faces another early test of its stock’s resilience this Thursday with the first Starship rocket test launch since the IPO. Starship remains under active development, making it susceptible to failures—a consequence of SpaceX’s “fly, fail, fix” methodology.
This will be the first Starship flight since a booster failure occurred in May. Once again, the company does not plan to attempt recovery of either the Starship booster or the upper stage, opting instead to simulate a landing in the Gulf of Mexico. Consequently, both components of the Starship system will likely explode regardless of whether the flight plan proceeds without issues.
This story has been updated to include the closing price.
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