SpaceX shares showed stability on Thursday, holding steady after a lockup expiration on August 6th allowed insiders to sell $101 billion worth of stock. This outcome was contrary to many analysts' expectations of a significant downturn due to the increased supply of shares. The company's stock had recently experienced volatility, closing at $114.53 on Monday, down 15% from its IPO price and 49% from its June high, erasing over $1 trillion in market value from its peak.
Despite the release of nearly a billion shares, Wall Street analysts largely maintained their bullish outlook. Raymond James analyst Brian Gesuale reiterated his $800 price target for the shares within the next 12 months, citing exponential revenue growth. Morgan Stanley's Adam Jonas maintained a $300 price target, viewing the current $100 valuation as an attractive entry point, especially considering the company's AI business is valued at zero at this level. Bernstein's Douglas Harned advised investors to focus on management's confidence in future growth rather than short-term stock movements, highlighting the potential for a multi-trillion dollar valuation.
The stable performance comes after SpaceX reported $7.8 billion in revenue for the April-June quarter, a 92% increase from the prior year, exceeding the consensus forecast of $6.8 billion. However, the company reported a loss of $541 million for the quarter, following a $4.3 billion loss in the first three months of the year. Capital expenditures, particularly for its xAI unit, were higher than expected at $15.8 billion, contributing to the overall quarterly spending of $18.4 billion and causing the stock to tumble more than 8% in late trading prior to the lockup expiration. The stock still trades at a high valuation of 448 times estimated earnings over the next 12 months.
The expiration on Thursday was the first of several lockup periods, with more shares eligible for trading later in the year, and a significant portion of shares, including Elon Musk's holdings, becoming available a year after the IPO. Short interest in SpaceX has surged to 34% of the float from 18% a month ago, surpassing that of Tesla, as bearish bets increase ahead of these events.
