SpaceX stock plunges 20% from peak, leaving the average post-IPO buyer underwater

Just days after Wall Street crowned SpaceX one of the most valuable companies on the planet, the stock’s gravity-defying rally is starting to look a lot less certain.

Shares of SpaceX fell another 3.6% on Thursday, extending a sharp retreat that has erased roughly 20% of the stock’s value since reaching an intraday high above $225 earlier this week. The decline has left the average investor who bought shares after the company’s blockbuster IPO at a loss, a striking reversal for a stock that briefly appeared unstoppable.

“The average SpaceX buyer post-IPO is almost under water after two-day slide”

SpaceX closed Thursday at just under $184.98 a share. The stock’s five-day volume-weighted average price (VWAP) was approximately $181.71. VWAP is widely used by traders and institutions to measure the average price investors paid over a given period, weighted by trading volume. The metric suggests that many investors who rushed into the stock after its public debut have seen their gains evaporate.

“The average investor who bought SpaceX shares in the open market after its debut has seen nearly all of their gains disappear as a sharp pullback erased a large chunk of the stock’s post-IPO surge,” CNBC reported.

The pullback marks a dramatic shift in sentiment.

Credit: CNBC

SpaceX’s Post-IPO Euphoria Fades as 20% Selloff Wipes Out Most Investor Gains

SpaceX debuted at $135 per share and quickly became one of the hottest trades in the market. Shares surged more than 65% from the IPO price, climbing above $225 as investors piled into one of the most anticipated public offerings in recent memory. At its peak, the rally pushed the company’s market capitalization close to $3 trillion and fueled comparisons to some of the biggest stock market debuts of the past decade.

That enthusiasm has cooled.

The stock has now given back a significant portion of its post-IPO gains and is trading near levels last seen on its second day in the public markets. The move highlights how quickly investor sentiment can change once the initial excitement surrounding a major IPO begins to fade.

Retail investors have been caught in the middle of the reversal. Thousands gained access to IPO shares through brokerage platforms such as Robinhood, Fidelity, and SoFi. Many received only a fraction of the allocations they requested, often just a handful of shares. Those investors still hold gains relative to the $135 offering price, though the profit cushion has narrowed considerably from the stock’s recent highs.

For investors who bought in the open market after the debut, the picture looks very different.

The latest decline has renewed questions about valuation and whether the company’s stock price can support the expectations that fueled its early rally. Investors were willing to pay increasingly higher prices during the first few trading sessions, betting that SpaceX’s leadership in launch services, satellite internet, and space infrastructure could justify a valuation rarely seen in public markets.

The past two trading days suggest that some investors are taking a more cautious view.

SpaceX remains one of the most closely watched companies on Wall Street, and few doubt its long-term importance to the future of space and communications. The question now is whether the stock can regain the momentum that carried it to record highs, or whether the market is beginning a broader reassessment of what that future is worth.