SpaceX (NASDAQ:SPCX) shares declined about 3% in early trading Friday to $137.52, extending a modest pullback from recent gains. The stock closed Thursday at $141.29, roughly 3% lower, but still above its $135 IPO price. The latest dip comes as the company approaches a second major lockup expiration on August 20, when approximately 320 million shares become eligible for trading.
The upcoming unlock follows a first tranche of more than 900 million shares that became tradable on August 6. Contrary to widespread expectations of a selloff, SpaceX shares rallied 6.1% on that day and surged about 15% in the following session. The stock has gained roughly 22% in the week since the initial lockup expiry, defying bearish forecasts.
Lockup agreements restrict company insiders and early investors from selling shares for a set period after an IPO. Once these restrictions lapse, additional supply can enter the market, potentially pressuring the stock if demand doesn't keep pace. The second unlock, however, may be less impactful given the market's reaction to the first, but volatility is likely to persist.
SpaceX began trading on the Nasdaq in June after raising approximately $85.7 billion in what was described as the largest IPO on record. Shares were priced at $135 and climbed as high as $225.64 during the first week. The stock remains about 30% below its June 16 closing high of $201.80.
Cursor acquisition strengthens AI push
SpaceX completed its $60 billion acquisition of Anysphere, the AI startup behind the coding assistant Cursor, on August 14, according to a regulatory filing. The deal, announced two months earlier, is intended to bolster SpaceX's AI tools for software development. Cursor, launched in 2023, helps programmers write and debug code more efficiently and has become a major player in the “vibe coding” trend.
As part of the transaction, Cursor's co-founders will become billionaires, and the startup's team will gain access to SpaceX's extensive AI chip inventory. “We will have access to the largest fleet of GPUs in the world, giving us the compute to build stronger models that are also more economical to run,” Cursor said in a blog post Friday.
Mizuho sees upside from Grok 4.6
Mizuho analyst Brett Linzey reiterated an Outperform rating and a $200 price target on SpaceX shares. Linzey noted that the new Grok 4.6 model now offers “frontier-level performance,” bringing it closer to leading AI models from OpenAI and Anthropic. After reviewing Grok's performance across coding, multi-turn agentic reasoning, and complex mathematics, Mizuho concluded that Grok is closing the gap with other frontier models.
Linzey believes this progress could help SpaceXAI expand Grok beyond consumer applications and attract more enterprise customers. Lower pricing could also make Grok more appealing to businesses, while Cursor provides a distribution channel reaching a large developer audience. The improving performance may help SpaceXAI gain market share from rival AI platforms.
Investors are also watching broader market trends and Musk's predictions about AI revenue dominating by Q4. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley's $300 price target reflects optimism about AI-driven growth. However, the upcoming share unlock could introduce near-term volatility, as noted in earlier coverage of the first lockup.
Despite the current dip, SpaceX's fundamentals remain strong, with the company's AI initiatives and strategic acquisitions providing potential long-term catalysts. The market's reaction to the second lockup will be a key test of investor sentiment.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
