New York, July 1, 2026, 13:10 (EDT)
- Space Exploration Technologies Corp. NASDAQ:SPCX fell about 6% to $160.60 in active U.S. trading, with volume near 59.9 million shares.
- Short interest has climbed to 196 million shares, or about 31% of the free float, Ortex data cited by Reuters showed.
- Nasdaq Inc. NASDAQ:NDAQ said SpaceX will enter the Nasdaq-100 before the open on July 7; J.P. Morgan estimated $4.3 billion of passive inflows.
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. NASDAQ:SPCX, known as SpaceX, fell about 6% on Wednesday as a short trade worth more than $31 billion at current prices ran into a coming Nasdaq-100 index bid.
U.S. equity markets were open on Wednesday; Nasdaq’s 2026 holiday calendar lists July 3 as the Independence Day closure. SpaceX traded at $160.60, down $10.26, with an intraday range of $157.99 to $176.12 and volume of about 59.9 million shares.
The data point that matters is the gap between the short base and the forced buying that may come next week. Ortex data cited by Reuters put SpaceX short interest at 196 million shares through Tuesday, up from about 83 million shares a week earlier. At $160.60, that short position has a notional value of about $31.5 billion.
| SpaceX positioning measure | Input | Investor read |
|---|---|---|
| Current price | $160.60 | Down about 6% on the day |
| Short interest | 196 mln shares | About 31% of free float |
| Implied free float | About 632 mln shares | Based on Ortex short-interest ratio |
| Short notional | About $31.5 bln | 196 mln shares times $160.60 |
| J.P. Morgan passive inflow estimate | $4.3 bln | Nasdaq-100 buying estimate |
| Passive shares at current price | About 26.8 mln shares | $4.3 bln divided by $160.60 |
| Passive shares vs short interest | About 13.7% | Passive bid is smaller than the short base |
“The rise in short bets is extraordinary for a stock that has been public less than a month,” Ortex co-founder Peter Hillerberg said. He also said there was “a lot of potential fuel if it tips into a squeeze.” Reuters
The borrow cost does not yet show stress. Reuters said the cost to borrow SpaceX shares was about 1%, down from as high as 14% at launch. Shorts have mark-to-market losses of about $760 million since the IPO, after being up roughly $2.5 billion on paper when the stock bottomed near $153 last week, Ortex data showed.
Nasdaq said SpaceX will become a Nasdaq-100 component before the market opens on July 7. Nasdaq said more than 200 products with more than $800 billion in assets globally track the index, which means the stock is moving from IPO trade to benchmark holding in less than a month.
J.P. Morgan estimated the inclusion could draw $4.3 billion in passive inflows, Reuters reported. Morningstar strategist Michael Field told Reuters there was “a lot of demand,” but added: “We think the stock is overvalued.” Reuters
| Related market snapshot | Latest | Change |
|---|---|---|
| SpaceX NASDAQ:SPCX | $160.60 | -6.0% |
| Invesco QQQ Trust NASDAQ:QQQ | $728.36 | -1.1% |
| Rocket Lab USA Inc. NASDAQ:RKLB | $106.60 | +4.9% |
| Tesla Inc. NASDAQ:TSLA | $425.79 | +1.2% |
The setup is awkward for both sides. Passive buyers tied to the Nasdaq-100 can create near-term demand, but the short notional is about 7 times the J.P. Morgan inflow estimate. That does not make the stock a sell. It means the next few sessions can be driven by flows more than by launch cadence or Starlink subscriber math.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives started coverage with an Outperform rating and a $190 target, calling SpaceX “one of the most differentiated assets within the tech market.” Wedbush said Starlink had about 12 million subscribers as of June 5 and put its average revenue per user near $66. Investing.com
Ives said Starship could carry about 60 Starlink satellites per launch, compared with 27 for Falcon 9, and called that an “incremental driver” for the broadband business. Wedbush’s target was based on a sum-of-the-parts valuation tied to fiscal 2028 estimates and implied enterprise value of about $2.48 trillion. Investing.com
Governance remains part of the index debate. SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda told Reuters the SEC “does not directly regulate the activities of index providers,” and said investors with governance concerns can choose other funds or use direct indexing. Reuters
SpaceX did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment on the short-interest report. The next fixed date for the stock is July 7, when Nasdaq-100 funds start holding it as an index member.
