For the first time since SpaceX’s June IPO, retail investors were net sellers: on Friday, August 7 they sold $4.5 million more in SpaceX shares than they bought, according to data from Vanda Research.
The timing is notable because the net selling occurred not during a crash but while the stock was rallying back toward its $135 IPO price. Vanda estimates that retail investors paid an average of $147 per share since the debut, suggesting Friday’s sales may have been driven by attempts to realize losses or rebalance positions at a more favorable price.
The $4.5 million net sale is small relative to the stock’s trading scale: the largest one-day net buying since the listing was $144.6 million on June 16.
Two days earlier, on August 5, retail investors were active buyers when the share price plunged 13.6% following SpaceX’s first quarterly earnings release. Although the report highlighted faster payback on AI-related spending, markets worried about how long the profitable Starlink business can finance the company’s expensive AI investments.
The stock’s wider price trajectory reflects this shifting sentiment. In June the share price had climbed 67% above the $135 IPO level, but by early August it had given up those gains and traded more than 22% below the debut price. Since July 16 the stock has not closed above the IPO price on any trading day.
Retail investors were a key part of SpaceX’s IPO allocation: at least 30% of the floated shares were earmarked for retail. Liquidity dynamics changed materially after the first lock-up expiration, when the number of shares available to the public more than doubled, widening the free float and increasing potential volatility.
This article is based on Reuters-sourced data. It does not constitute investment advice.
An AI assistant contributed to preparing this article; the final content was edited and verified by a journalist.
