NEW YORK, July 2, 2026, 06:01 EDT
- SpaceX finished Wednesday at $157.54, off 7.8%. WSJ premarket data had it at $155.84 at 4:13 a.m. EDT.
- Short interest climbed to 196 million shares, or around 31% of the free float, according to Ortex.
- J.P. Morgan NYSE:JPM expects Nasdaq-100 inclusion will trigger about $4.3 billion in passive inflows, according to Reuters.
- Nasdaq’s 2026 schedule has July 3 as a market holiday for Independence Day observed.
Space Exploration Technologies Corp NASDAQ:SPCX is in focus for a squeeze going into Thursday, and it’s drawing more eyes than the index-driven buying expected next week. As of Wednesday’s close, the projected Nasdaq-100 passive buy adds up to roughly 27 million shares. That covers just 14% of the current short interest.
| Measure | Latest figure | Investor read |
|---|---|---|
| Wednesday close | $157.54 | Fell 7.8% for the session |
| Premarket quote, 4:13 a.m. EDT | $155.84 | Another 1.1% lower premarket |
| 52-week high | $225.64 | Shares trade about 30% off the high |
| 52-week low | $147.11 | Sits nearly 7% above the low |
| Wednesday volume | 109.3 mln shares | Index buy indicated at roughly a quarter of that |
The stock is still trading about 17% above the $135 IPO price, but since the debut, most of the action is now around the float. Short interest hit 196 million shares, or roughly 31% of the free float, as of Tuesday, according to Ortex. That was up from 83 million shares, or 13%, just a week ago. “It’s extraordinary for a stock that has been public less than a month,” Ortex co-founder Peter Hillerberg said. He called the short trade a “roller coaster” for shorts. Reuters
| Short-sale gauge | Week earlier | Latest | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shares sold short | 83 mln | 196 mln | +113 mln |
| Share of free float | 13% | 31% | +18 pts |
| Borrow cost | Topped out at 14% on launch | Near 1% | Funding stress eases |
| Short mark-to-market since IPO | — | Loss of about $760 mln | More risk for shorts on rebound |
The math is important because the index flow expected won’t be enough on its own to unwind the short base. J.P. Morgan puts the coming flow at $4.3 billion, or about 27.3 million shares at Wednesday’s close. That’s about 4.3% of implied free float, and roughly a quarter of the day’s trading volume. The price can still move if liquidity drops before the holiday break.
SpaceX is set to join the Nasdaq-100 on July 7, Nasdaq said last week. The move comes after Nasdaq and other index providers changed their rules on fast entry. Reuters reported that SpaceX posted a $4.9 billion net loss last year. S&P Global NYSE:SPGI said it will hold off on adding the stock to major indexes like the S&P 500 for at least 12 months.
Morningstar NASDAQ:MORN chief equity strategist Michael Field said there was “a lot of demand” driving the fast-track index addition, but also said, “We think the stock is overvalued.” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives went the other direction, kicking off coverage at outperform with a $190 target. Ives wrote that SpaceX is “well-positioned to become a major hyperscaler” across connectivity, launch and AI infrastructure. Reuters
Bulls are reaching past rockets. The bears say AI and telecom need to earn that $2 trillion-plus tag. That’s behind the July 1 handset report. Elon Musk pushed back on a Wall Street Journal story saying SpaceX showed investors a prototype AI phone running xAI tech and Qualcomm Inc NASDAQ:QCOM Snapdragon chips. “Utterly false,” Musk posted on X. Reuters
Tech stocks with higher multiples struggled Thursday morning as the broader market offered little support. U.S. stock index futures were mostly flat ahead of the June payrolls numbers, with Nasdaq 100 futures slipping 0.24% at 5:00 a.m. ET, according to Reuters.
Nasdaq’s regular cash session hadn’t started as of the dateline. Trading runs from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern. The 2026 calendar lists Friday, July 3, as closed for Independence Day observed.
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