SpaceX Shares Recover Slightly as Post-IPO Sell-Off Cools

SpaceX Shares Recover Slightly as Post-IPO Sell-Off Cools

Investors weigh valuation concerns, AI expansion and analyst optimism after SpaceX’s volatile market debut.

SpaceX shares trimmed some of their losses late on Thursday as selling pressure eased following the company’s second consecutive down session since its post-IPO surge.

The stock had fallen nearly 10% earlier in the session before recovering to trade down around 1.2% at $189.47. Despite the pullback, SpaceX remains well above its $135 initial public offering price, showing that investor demand is still strong, even after recent volatility.

The rockets-to-AI company, founded by Elon Musk, enjoyed a major rally after listing. At one stage, its market value moved above Amazon, highlighting the scale of excitement surrounding the company. However, the latest sell-off shows that investors are now paying closer attention to valuation, financial performance and future share supply.

SpaceX also confirmed that underwriters fully exercised the greenshoe option, lifting total IPO proceeds to $85.7 billion. This made the flotation even larger than initially expected and added to its position as one of the most significant listings in market history.

Several issues are weighing on SpaceX shares:

• Concerns that the stock rose too quickly after IPO
• Questions over the company’s high valuation
• Uncertainty around the $60 billion all-stock acquisition of Anysphere
• Worries over the upcoming lock-up expiration in August
• Concerns about SpaceX’s losses and cash burn
• Weakness across the wider space sector

One of the biggest talking points is SpaceX’s planned acquisition of Anysphere, the maker of AI coding tool Cursor. The deal has divided institutional investors. Some see it as a bold move that could strengthen SpaceX’s artificial intelligence ecosystem. Others are concerned about capital allocation so soon after the IPO.

Oppenheimer remains optimistic and has raised its price target on SpaceX to $250 from $190. The broker believes the Cursor transaction could be highly accretive and has lifted its revenue forecasts. It also argues that SpaceX’s control of launch services, satellite connectivity, data centres, AI models and applications could give the business a major advantage over competitors.

However, not all investors are convinced. SpaceX disclosed in its IPO filing that it posted a net loss of $4.9 billion in 2025 and another $4.28 billion in the first quarter of 2026. Starlink remains the company’s only profitable segment, which raises questions about how long investors will tolerate heavy spending elsewhere in the business.

The wider market offered little support. While the S&P 500, Dow Jones and Nasdaq all moved higher, SpaceX underperformed sharply. This suggests the sell-off is more company-specific than market-wide.

Other space-related stocks also weakened. Intuitive Machines, Planet Labs, Satellogic and Virgin Galactic all fell, while AST SpaceMobile and EchoStar also came under pressure.

Conclusion

SpaceX remains one of the most exciting stocks on the market, but its early trading shows the risks of buying into hype immediately after an IPO. The company has huge long-term potential across rockets, satellites, broadband and AI, but its valuation already assumes major success.

For investors, patience may be sensible. SpaceX could still rise further if growth accelerates, but the recent pullback shows that high expectations, heavy losses and future share supply could create more volatility in the months ahead.

Sources: (Fool.com, Investing.com, Reuters.com)