SpaceX’s record-breaking stock market debut is starting to slow down after an extraordinary rally. The company’s shares were on track to fall for a second straight day after surging almost 49% in their first three trading sessions. The stock was sold to investors at $135 per share in the IPO, opened around $150 on its first day, and later climbed as high as $218 – $225 during the buying rush. At its peak, the rally pushed SpaceX’s market value close to $3 trillion, putting it among the most valuable publicly traded companies in the world.
Even after the recent decline, the stock remains more than 40% above its IPO price. Shares closed around $191.82 after falling about 5% in their first losing session. In early trading the following day, the stock briefly increased about 2% at the open before reversing course and falling as much as 3.5%. Despite the pullback, the stock is still up about 42% from its $135 IPO price, leaving SpaceX with a market value of about $2.5 trillion.
The IPO itself was one of the largest and most heavily demanded offerings ever seen. SpaceX initially raised about $75 billion by selling more than 555 million shares. The total later increased to around $85.7 billion after underwriters exercised an option to purchase an additional 83.3 million shares. Investor demand reportedly exceeded $250 billion, meaning buyers wanted nearly three times more stock than was available. The massive demand helped drive the sharp rise in the share price immediately after trading began.
However, after several days of nonstop gains, some investors started taking profits. The stock recorded its first meaningful decline, falling about 5% in a single session. This is not unusual after such a strong rally. Many early investors who bought shares during the IPO or shortly after the listing chose to lock in their gains, while others grew concerned that the share price had risen much faster than the company’s underlying financial performance. Broader weakness in technology stocks also reduced investors’ appetite for risk and added to the pullback.
A key factor behind the rally has been the imbalance between supply and demand. Estimates suggest that only around 640 million shares are currently available for public trading, while many large index funds and ETFs still need to build positions in the stock. This limited supply has helped push prices higher. However, investors are also watching upcoming lockup expirations. When those restrictions begin ending, around 912 million additional shares could become available for trading, increasing the supply of stock by more than 40% and potentially creating additional volatility.
Meanwhile, options trading shows that investors are divided on SpaceX’s future prospects. More than 1.8 million options contracts reportedly changed hands in a single session, one of the highest levels ever seen for a newly listed company. Notably, investors remain divided between SpaceX’s long-term growth potential and concerns that its valuation has become too stretched. It is important to note that the recent decline does not suggest a problem with the business itself, but it marks the beginning of a new phase in which investors will focus less on IPO excitement and more on SpaceX’s revenue, profits, and long-term growth.
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Ashutosh is a Senior Writer at The Tech Portal, largely reporting on new tech, and intersection of technology and business. Ashutosh’s career spans across nearly a decade of technology writing across multiple platforms and languages.
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