SpaceX slips below $135 IPO price ahead of Starship launch

SpaceX shares fell below the $135 initial public offering price Wednesday afternoon, dipping beneath $133 per share before recovering to around the IPO level, according to market data. The decline followed a steady drop over the month since the company's June 12 listing on the Nasdaq, which raised nearly $86 billion. Shares had surged above $200 in the days after the debut, briefly valuing the company alongside tech giants such as Amazon and Microsoft, but have lost value nearly every week since that peak. Analysts attribute some volatility to a small float of just 4% of total shares trading on the exchange, which amplifies price swings. The downturn coincides with a broader decline in technology stocks and pressure on SpaceX bonds issued after the IPO. The stock movement comes ahead of a Starship test launch scheduled for Thursday, the first since the IPO and the first since a booster failure in May. The flight will not attempt to recover the booster or upper stage, instead simulating a landing in the Gulf of Mexico. SpaceX's performance is being watched as a gauge for potential upcoming offerings from companies such as Anthropic and OpenAI, which have filed confidentially for IPOs.