SpaceX shares fall as CZ and Musk clash over Binance hack

CZ and Musk trade remarks

The Market Periodical reports that SpaceX stock moved lower on Friday after Binance founder Changpeng Zhao and Elon Musk clashed online over Binance’s reported $6.3 billion hack. The article says Musk responded with a grimacing emoji during an online discussion about Binance’s losses and whether the exchange could reimburse customers. Zhao then replied that he respected Musk but said it was a bad time to troll and asked him to stop.

Zhao also said Binance’s SPCX holdings were worth more than $1 billion. According to the article, he connected those shares to a $500 million investment tied to Musk’s 2022 Twitter takeover and asked Musk for support.

Binance’s hack and response

The article says the exchange dispute followed Binance’s disclosure of a security incident involving more than $6.3 billion in crypto assets. The Market Periodical reports that blockchain investigators TRM Labs and Chainalysis attributed the theft to North Korea’s TraderTraitor group, although the investigation remains ongoing.

Binance then reserved more than $6.34 billion in company funds to cover the losses. Co-CEO Yi He said annual revenue could cover the damage without selling SpaceX shares. Zhao later clarified that he had never suggested selling the holdings.

SpaceX shares track a broader tech selloff

The Market Periodical says SpaceX stock fell 4.71% on Friday to $137.11 from Thursday’s close of $143.89. The shares opened at $137.85, dropped as low as $135.91, and later recovered to $140.20, but the late rebound did not erase the day’s losses. The article places the move in the context of broad selling across U.S. technology stocks.

The report says the decline came as U.S. tech shares weakened after disappointing earnings and forecasts from Amazon and Intel, adding to concerns about rising AI spending. It also says the Nasdaq-100 lost more than $1 trillion in market value during Friday’s trading. For SpaceX, the fall added to a difficult October, which also included pressure after about 1.3 billion restricted shares became eligible for trading when insider lockup restrictions expired.

Analysts keep high targets for SPCX

Despite the pullback, the article says Wall Street analysts maintained bullish views after SpaceX’s latest earnings report. Citing TipRanks, The Market Periodical says 35 analysts have an average 12-month SPCX price target of $250.34, which implies 82.6% upside from $137.11. Individual targets in the report range from $140 to $500, and the overall consensus remains Strong Buy.

The article names several analysts and their views: Needham’s Ryan Koontz kept a Buy rating and a $250 target, Morgan Stanley’s Adam Jonas set a $300 target, Bernstein’s Douglas Harned raised his forecast from $248 to $268, and Bank of America Securities’ Ronald Epstein also kept a Buy rating. The consensus cited in the article includes 29 Buy ratings, five Hold ratings, and one Sell rating.

Latest financial results

The forecasts follow SpaceX’s third-quarter earnings, which the article says showed revenue rising 161% from a year earlier to $14.6 billion. Net income was $4.4 billion, compared with a $1.1 billion loss in the same quarter last year. The article ends by noting that the information is not investment advice and that stock prices and analyst targets remain uncertain.