SpaceX IPO sticks the landing. Here’s what investors are saying about its epic first trading day
SpaceX Executives Ring the Closing Bell on Nasdaq at the debut of their IPO on June 12, 2026.
Adam Jeffery | CNBC
Investors have struggled to find critical things to say about the market. SpaceX It went public on its first day of trading on Nasdaq on Friday.
Despite a large retail allocation and a large amount of excitement, trading was not particularly volatile and the positive momentum continued after the market closed for the weekend.
The rocket launch, computing and satellite company had the largest IPO ever, with trading volume of more than 500 million shares and a closing price of over $160, pushing its market capitalization to over $2.1 trillion on the first day.
The stock opened at $150 and finished the day almost 20% above the wired offering price of $135 per share. It continued its rise in after-hours trading and reached $166.85.
SpaceX, 1 day
“The price was going to be $135 a week ago, but it could have gone the other way, and where it’s trading right now is probably a win-win situation for everyone involved,” Paul Meeks, head of technology research at Freedom Capital Markets, told CNBC during Friday’s trading day.
The stock began trading after 11:30 a.m. and rose 30% to a high of $176.52 less than two hours later. That’s when investors started selling, capitalizing on the initial excitement.
“To what extent is retail going to result in sellers? If something hits $170 or $180, you could see that. You could see it trading at a relatively steady level and then selling off — which could be happening as we speak,” Dan Alpert, founder of Westwood Capital, told CNBC on Friday afternoon.
Shares fell to $158 in the afternoon but recovered slightly towards the close, settling at $160.95.
There was some concern on Wall Street that the up to 30% retail allocation SpaceX announced would lead to much steeper price swings.
“You never know what retail buyers will do after inventory opens,” Alpert said. “To the extent that Wall Street places stock to institutional buyers, especially buyers they view as reckless, you have a much safer boat than if you offered above-average retail interest.”
So-called perpetual futures for the IPO were priced around $162 on the Hyperliquid platform in midweek, and Friday’s closing price was also close to that.
Part of ‘Mag 7’?
Many analysts on Wall Street were worried Friday about whether SpaceX could live up to its massive valuation over the long term.
Comments focused on the viability of the reusable Starship rocket, monetizing AI, and ultimately generating free cash flow.
A Wall Street firm – CFRA – He gave SpaceX a sell rating shortly after it began trading.
However, the stock’s steady and positive performance on Friday seems likely to carry these concerns into the future, at least for now.
Analysts said Friday that SpaceX should currently be considered part of a new category of market-defining mega stocks that have evolved from the previous, highly recognizable Magnificent Seven.
“It’s there,” Prosecutor Davidson head of technology research Gil Luria told CNBC on Friday. “It includes some of our old favorites: Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Meta. Now it includes SpaceX.”
