NEW YORK, June 17, 2026, 5:20 PM EDT
- SpaceX dropped around 5% on Wednesday, logging its first full-session loss since the stock started trading publicly last week.
- U.S. stocks fell after the Federal Reserve kept rates steady but said a rate increase may come later this year.
- SpaceX fell behind Amazon in market value again. Earlier in the week, it had briefly overtaken both Amazon and Microsoft.
SpaceX shares lost around 5% on Wednesday—the first full-day drop since the company’s IPO. The stock closed just under $192, after touching an intraday low near $187. This reversed part of a rally that had quickly lifted Elon Musk’s rocket, satellite internet and AI company into the top tier of Wall Street debuts.
SpaceX’s slip is notable because the company didn’t just join the market—it became a market mover. Shares closed Tuesday at $201.80, which put SpaceX’s market cap around $2.655 trillion. The stock passed Amazon and, during the morning, also traded above Microsoft’s market value.
SpaceX slid back under Amazon in market value on Wednesday. MarketWatch said SpaceX was at about $2.584 trillion after a late drop in the stock, while Amazon came in higher at $2.598 trillion.
Stocks slid after the Fed kept rates unchanged and its new projections pointed to a possible rate hike this year. The S&P 500 gave up 1.28%, the Dow was off 1.01%, and the Nasdaq shed 1.45%. Carson Group’s Ryan Detrick said the key question is if investors should expect a hike, or if the Fed holds steady.
Options activity is part of what’s driving SpaceX swings. These contracts let traders buy or sell shares at a preset price before a deadline. Reuters said more than 1 million SpaceX options traded by early Tuesday afternoon. Joe Saluzzi at Themis Trading called the stock “one of those meme stocks.” Brent Kochuba at SpotGamma said traders “can’t hedge SpaceX” with anything else. Reuters
Valuation is the key issue beneath the price move. Morningstar analyst Nicolas Owens said Wednesday SpaceX is “significantly overvalued” and cut the fair value estimate to $62 from $63. The note followed SpaceX’s $60 billion equity issue for the Cursor AI coding platform deal. Morningstar’s report warned that the current stock price assumes fast Starship reusability and commercial orbital data center success, which are both still up in the air. Morningstar
Some market watchers were cautious before Wednesday’s drop. Todd Schoenberger, CIO at Crosscheck Management, told Reuters, “The key question is whether investors are investing in SpaceX or trading SpaceX.” Jake Dollarhide, CEO of Longbow Asset Management, said expiring lockups could lead to “selling pressure.” Reuters
Support for the case is still in place. SpaceX is set to join the Nasdaq 100, along with select MSCI and Russell large-cap benchmarks, Reuters said. Funds tracking those indexes could be buying the stock on inclusion. “Whether or not” retail investors have a stance on valuation, many may hold it anyway through retirement accounts or index funds, Kevin Moss, who helped create the Private Shares Fund, told Reuters. Reuters
The trade isn’t one-way. Passive funds, which track the index instead of picking stocks, might support the shares with forced buying. Still, the higher valuation, new supply from unlocked shares, and tougher rates could weigh if buyers hold back. That’s the risk after the sharp rally.
Next up is a test ahead of a cut-down week. Nasdaq’s 2026 schedule puts U.S. equity and options markets shut Friday, June 19, for Juneteenth. That gives investors just one session to adjust after SpaceX logged its first drop as a public firm.
