SpaceX Shares Fall Below IPO Price: Musk Announces Delay of Key Starship Test
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Shares of Elon Musk’s aerospace and AI corporation, SpaceX, fell 4% on August 20 compared to the previous close. They ended the day at $134 per share, which is about 1% below their IPO price—back in mid-June, SpaceX shares were valued at $135 per share.
On August 20, Barron’s and The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) attributed this trend to statements made by Elon Musk: on the social media platform X, he warned of delays in a key Starship test operation. This refers to the post-launch recovery and return of the Starship spacecraft (the upper stage of the rocket system) to the launch site.
In early August, during an earnings call, Musk said the company would attempt to do this as early as the next—the 14th—Starship test. It is expected to take place later this month, according to Barron’s. However, on August 20, Musk wrote on X that “SpaceX will likely only be able to catch the spacecraft using its tower in a few months.”
The WSJ notes that the date of the next Starship mission has not yet been officially announced.
SpaceX has long been working to make both the first stage of the Starship rocket system (the Super Heavy booster) and the second stage—the spacecraft itself—fully reusable. SpaceX has already succeeded in capturing Super Heavy and returning it to the launch site after a mission—the company did this for the first time in 2024.
The Starship missions are crucial for testing the technologies needed to realize Musk's ambitions, as he hopes to use his space business not only to land people on the Moon but also to establish AI data centers in orbit.
What about the stocks?
Despite the negative trend in SpaceX’s stock price in recent days (it has lost more than 5% over the past five trading sessions and has plummeted 40% from its all-time high, reached in mid-June— above $225 per share ), most Wall Street analysts are optimistic about the company’s prospects. Thirty experts recommend buying shares of Musk’s aerospace and AI corporation (with “Buy” and “Overweight” ratings), seven advise holding them in a portfolio, and only three analysts recommend selling (with “Underweight” and “Sell” ratings). Wall Street’s average price target for SpaceX shares—$226.26 per share—implies an increase of nearly 69% from the last closing price.
This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor
