SpaceX Stock Slips Below IPO Price as 319M Shares Hit Market

SpaceX shares fell below their $135 initial public offering price on Thursday, August 20, 2026, as a new tranche of restricted shares became eligible for trading, adding to selling pressure on the stock. The decline was also influenced by CEO Elon Musk's announcement that a key milestone for the Starship program would be delayed.

The stock dropped 6.4% to $130.66 during the session, slipping beneath the price at which the company went public in June. The downturn coincided with the expiration of lockup restrictions on approximately 319 million shares, which represented about 7% of the stock originally subject to selling limits. This was the second major unlock since the IPO, following a larger release of 911.5 million shares on August 6. While the stock rose 6% on that earlier date, the market reaction on Thursday was negative, suggesting investor sensitivity to the growing supply of tradable shares.

The share unlock occurred just days after SpaceX completed its $60 billion acquisition of AI coding company Cursor on August 14. That all-stock transaction created roughly 389 million new Class A shares, further expanding the company's tradable float within a short period. The...