SpaceX shares close below IPO price for first time since August

Friday’s close and the IPO comparison

FourWeekMBA reports that SpaceX shares ended trading on Friday, Oct. 30, at $134.72. That put the stock 28 cents under the $135.00 price at which the company sold 555,555,555 shares in its June initial public offering, according to Yahoo Finance price data and SpaceX’s final prospectus. The outlet says the close was also the first time the shares finished below the IPO price since Aug. 20, based on its review of daily closes.

How far the stock had fallen

Using its own calculations, FourWeekMBA says the Friday close was 36.3% below SpaceX’s record closing price of $211.39, which was reached on June 16. It also says the stock was down 40.3% from the intraday high of $225.64 set the same day. The article notes that the 40% decline from peak is the figure used in some reports because it is based on the intraday high rather than the closing price.

The share price path since June

FourWeekMBA says SpaceX first closed at $160.95 on June 12, its first day of trading, and reached the record close of $211.39 two sessions later. It then dropped to a low close of $108.27 on Aug. 5, recovered to $171.92 on Oct. 6, and then moved lower again after that. From Oct. 6 to Friday’s close, the outlet calculates a decline of 21.6%.

Explanations cited in press coverage

The article says The Economic Times linked the sell-off to several factors: the expiration of a major share lock-up, which lifted restrictions on about 1.3 billion shares on Oct. 22; concerns about Intel’s weak forecast; scrutiny of Starlink; and possible regulatory issues tied to a reported SpaceX-Tesla merger. FourWeekMBA also quotes The Economic Times as saying SpaceX “has become increasingly tied to the artificial intelligence trade.”

What is and is not established

FourWeekMBA says The Economic Times reported that SpaceX shares were down about 16% from Oct. 6 through Thursday, while most publicly traded space companies lost between 20% and 30% over the same period. The report also names Starship Flight 15, expected next month, as SpaceX’s next major event. FourWeekMBA says the causes listed in press coverage are not confirmed by SpaceX itself, and it did not find a single stated reason for Friday’s decline in any filing it reviewed. It adds that Monday’s trading had not opened when it checked the data.