U.S. — SpaceX shares closed at $131.11 on Thursday, falling below the company's $135 initial public offering price for the first time since its June debut. The stock had surged following its Nasdaq listing on June 12, reaching a peak of approximately $225 on June 16.

SpaceX priced its initial public offering at $135 per share on June 11, raising $75 billion. The company began trading on the Nasdaq exchange on June 12, with shares opening at $150. SpaceX was added to the Nasdaq-100 and Russell 1000 stock indexes following the offering.

SpaceX issued $25 billion worth of additional debt days after its IPO. The company reported revenue of $18 billion last year and a loss of $4.9 billion. SpaceX's businesses include space rockets, Starlink satellite internet, the X social network, and the artificial intelligence firm xAI.

Short selling activity has increased in the stock since trading began. About 185 million SpaceX shares are sold short, representing roughly 29% of the company's publicly tradable float, according to S3 Partners. Short interest in SpaceX shares was estimated at 40 million shares, or roughly 5% to 7% of the float, three weeks prior. "We are seeing continuous demand from short sellers building speculative positions since the IPO," said Matthew Unterman, head of research at S3 Partners.

The company's initial public float represented about 5% of its roughly 13 billion shares outstanding. KeyBanc Capital Markets estimated that about 11% of outstanding shares may become eligible for sale around the company's second-quarter earnings report. SpaceX is expected to release its first quarterly earnings in early August.

The first lockup expiration will allow employees and selected early investors to sell approximately 911.5 million shares on the second trading day following SpaceX's first quarterly earnings release. Elon Musk's stake represents about 42% of shares outstanding and is locked up until June 2027. Musk is exempt from early-release lockup provisions, and his shares are locked up until mid-June 2027. He holds roughly 40% of SpaceX's equity, representing about 85% of the voting power.

Once SpaceX reports its first quarterly earnings, insiders can sell 20% of their shares, plus an additional 10% if the stock has traded at least 30% above the $135 IPO price for five of the following 10 trading days. A time-based ladder releases an additional 7% of shares at 70, 90, 105, 120, and 135 days after the offering. After Q3 earnings, a further 28% of pre-IPO shares unlock. The core 180-day lockup expires on December 8.

Valuation metrics remain elevated compared to broader market averages. SpaceX trades at around 49 times expected revenue, roughly 100 to 130 times sales, and its price-to-book ratio sits near 55 times. SpaceX's enterprise value to EBITDA approaches 488 times.

Tesla trades at approximately 15 times expected revenue. The broader S&P 500 trades at about three times sales.

According to LSEG data, 27 of the 32 analysts covering SpaceX recommend buying, four have neutral ratings, and one recommends selling. Visible Alpha's mean price target for SpaceX is above $290. "We think at this level, it's relatively safe to at least be involved from a trading perspective," said Jay Hatfield, CEO of Infrastructure Capital Advisors. "SpaceX might be able to reach approximately $1T revenue in 2030," Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, stated on social media before the IPO.

"The SpaceX IPO was designed to separate retail investors from their money," said George Noble, an investor. The decline in SpaceX shares below the IPO price marks a turning point for the company, which raised $75 billion in its initial public offering and issued $25 billion in additional debt shortly after. The stock's movement from a peak of $225 to $131.11 represents a shift in market perception following the company's June 12 Nasdaq debut.

Upcoming lockup expirations will increase the number of shares available for trading. The first expiration allows the sale of 911.5 million shares following the company's first quarterly earnings release, expected in early August. Insider selling provisions allow additional shares to enter the market based on earnings performance and stock price thresholds. The core 180-day lockup expires on December 8.

Short interest in the stock has risen to 185 million shares, representing 29% of the publicly tradable float, up from an estimated 40 million shares three weeks prior.