New York, June 18, 2026, 04:26 (EDT)
- SpaceX finished its last trade at $191.82, off $9.79, or 4.85%, ahead of the regular Nasdaq open on Thursday.
- This was the stock’s first full day in the red since it started trading, but shares are still well over the IPO price of $135.
- Investors look to possible index buying and a short week as U.S. stock markets are closed Friday for Juneteenth.
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. shares came into Thursday facing pressure, after posting their first full trading-day drop since the company’s high-profile debut. The move tested a rally that had rapidly pushed Elon Musk’s rocket-and-satellite company into the ranks of Wall Street’s biggest stocks.
SpaceX shares (SPCX) last traded at $191.82, off $9.79, or 4.85%. The price is from early Thursday data. Nasdaq’s regular session in New York had yet to start.
Starlink shares fell but the stock’s still trading well above its $135 IPO price. The first week on the public market is showing how much investors will pay for launch power, Starlink expansion, and Musk’s AI infrastructure pitch.
SpaceX priced 555,555,555 Class A shares at $135 each. Trading is set to begin on the Nasdaq Global Select Market and Nasdaq Texas with the ticker “SPCX.” Underwriters got a 30-day option for up to 83,333,333 extra shares at the same price.
SpaceX’s listing pulled in $75 billion and set the company’s valuation at $1.77 trillion, according to Reuters. Shares ended their first day at $160.95, bumping the company’s market cap to around $2.1 trillion and bringing Amazon in sight for a head-to-head on market value.
SpaceX’s business math looks tough. Reuters said 2025 sales were up 33% to $18.67 billion, with Starlink bringing in about 60% of that. But after merging with xAI, SpaceX posted a $4.94 billion net loss. Its price-to-sales ratio at the IPO price was already well above many big tech names.
Some investors remain willing to pay up for the story. John Belton, portfolio manager at Gabelli Funds, called SpaceX the “ultimate growth stock” in comments to Reuters. He also said the shares could take time to settle once they start trading publicly. Reuters
Skeptics are speaking up. Morningstar’s Nicolas Owens called SpaceX shares “significantly overvalued” and set his fair value at $63, well under the IPO level and current price. Morningstar
Owens told Business Insider there are two points that might shift the valuation argument: if space-based data centers can outdo those on the ground, and if Starship gets to quick reuse. “The market seems to assume that it’s already a done deal,” he said. Business Insider
SpaceX is drawing a wide set of comparisons. Blue Origin is still its main rival for launches and government deals. But shares are trading at a value close to Amazon and Microsoft, despite SpaceX bringing in far less revenue.
Scarcity and index demand could dry up before earnings rise to match. The float, or shares available for trading, is small. That can push prices around if buyers pile in, but it works in reverse too if more shares hit the market or if the first earnings report falls short. Paul Meeks at Freedom Capital Markets told Business Insider, “We’ve seen the top,” and flagged hype, more share supply, and weak fundamentals as reasons to expect a bigger drop. Business Insider
The next few days offer a tight schedule. Reuters said investors are keeping an eye on possible index inclusion, which could trigger passive fund buying. Passive funds follow benchmarks instead of choosing stocks. Nasdaq said U.S. stock markets close Friday, June 19, for Juneteenth. That puts Thursday’s session as the first shot for the market to digest SpaceX’s post-IPO run, ahead of the long break.
Related articles: NASDAQ:SPCX
