SpaceX’s shares fell to just above $135 on Wednesday, the price set for its June 12 IPO that raised nearly $86 billion. The stock mostly traded below this IPO price during the day, reaching a low of $133 per share before closing at $135.27.
The decline follows a continuous drop since the IPO. SpaceX’s stock had initially surged to over $200 shortly after going public, briefly aiding its valuation to compete with major tech firms like Amazon and Microsoft. Since that peak, the shares have lost value every week.
Volatility in SpaceX’s shares is partly due to only 4% of the company’s total shares being publicly traded on Nasdaq. This small float, along with heightened attention on the company, has resulted in significant price fluctuations during its first month of trading.
Investor sentiment appears to be shifting regarding Elon Musk’s expansive plans for the company. This shift coincides with a broader downturn in tech stocks. In addition to the declining stock price, bonds issued by SpaceX following the IPO are also experiencing losses.
A sustained decrease in the company’s shares could affect perceptions around Musk’s predictions and potentially influence upcoming IPOs from other major tech firms, including Anthropic and OpenAI, which have both filed confidentially for IPOs.
On Thursday, SpaceX is set to conduct a test launch of its Starship rocket for the first time since the IPO. This will mark the first Starship flight since a booster failure in May. The company has no plans to recover the booster or upper stage, anticipating an explosion upon simulated landing in the Gulf of Mexico.
