SpaceX closed at $148 on Wednesday for a second straight day below its $150 debut trading price, an underwhelming milestone for a stock that soared to $201.80 just four weeks ago [1]. The slide came the day after SpaceX was added to the Nasdaq-100 index, an inclusion that usually signals market confidence but in this case failed to prevent a broader tech selloff from dragging the newly public company down. The irony is not lost on traders: the same index funds and ETFs that were forced to buy shares to match the benchmark are now sitting on paper losses.
SpaceX's record IPO in June raised $85.7 billion after underwriters exercised their full overallotment option, with shares initially priced at $135. The stock has since surrendered most of its post-IPO gains, tumbling roughly 16% from its peak [2]. The selloff mirrors a wider cooling across tech stocks, with chip makers and AI-linked companies also facing pressure this week. Wall Street analysts, however, remain overwhelmingly bullish. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage with an "overweight" rating and a $300 price target, while Bernstein, RBC, and UBS all rated the stock at outperform or buy with targets ranging from $210 to $239. Bulls cite SpaceX's lead in reusable rockets, its Starlink satellite network, and potential AI and orbital data center businesses as long-term growth drivers. For now, though, the market is sending a different signal.