SpaceX shares retreat as investors reassess valuation after the IPO rally.
SpaceX shares fell sharply on Thursday as enthusiasm following the company’s record-breaking stock market debut began to ease.
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The stock dropped more than 6% to $178.50 after losing nearly 5% in the previous session. Despite the decline, shares remained more than 30% above the $135 initial public offering price.
If losses continue, SpaceX’s market value could fall by more than $150 billion, reducing its valuation to around $2.52 trillion.
Investors Lock in Early Gains
Analysts said some selling pressure was expected after the stock’s strong opening performance.
Kat Liu, an analyst at IPOX Schuster, said profit-taking following such a large IPO was not unusual.
She noted that the listing had attracted exceptional attention during a shortened and highly active trading week.
Retail investors had aggressively bought SpaceX shares over the previous three trading sessions, recording net purchases of more than $300 million.
Trading activity slowed on Thursday. Data from Vanda Research showed net purchases of only $9.1 million by mid-afternoon.
Other Space Stocks Also Decline
The decline extended across the wider space sector.
Rocket Lab and Planet Labs each fell around 3%.
AST SpaceMobile dropped about 7%, while Intuitive Machines lost roughly 3%.
Valuation Questions Emerge
Analysts and fund managers have warned investors to expect volatility during SpaceX’s early period as a public company.
The company has a relatively limited public float and carries a high valuation, factors that can increase price swings.
SpaceX’s market value surged above $2 trillion after its Nasdaq debut last week.
Its shares jumped strongly during the first two trading days before retreating as investors questioned whether the valuation could support the company’s long-term ambitions.
AI Expansion Drives Investor Focus
SpaceX announced this week that it plans to acquire Anysphere, the company behind the AI coding platform Cursor, in a stock deal valued at $60 billion.
The move would strengthen SpaceX’s position in the growing market for enterprise AI tools.
At the same time, the company’s bankers are preparing meetings with investors as early as next week to discuss a bond offering worth at least $20 billion.
The funding would support the company’s wider artificial intelligence expansion strategy.
