SpaceX stock surged 14% on Friday after an analyst upgrade, softer U.S. jobs data, and limited insider selling eased pressure on the recently listed company.
Summary
- SPCX climbed 14.09% to $131.06, extending its rebound from an August low near $105.
- Argus upgraded SpaceX to Buy and maintained a $160 price target.
- Up to 911.5 million insider shares became eligible for sale without triggering the feared sell-off.
- Weak U.S. payroll data reduced expectations for another short-term Federal Reserve rate hike.
SpaceX stock jumps after Argus upgrade
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. traded at $131.06 as of 3:26 p.m. EDT, up $16.14 for the session. The stock opened near $115 before rising above $120 and accelerating toward $131 during afternoon trading.
Friday’s rally followed a 6.1% gain on Thursday, reversing part of the 13.6% decline recorded after SpaceX released its first quarterly results as a public company.
Argus Research helped drive the latest move by upgrading SpaceX from Hold to Buy. The firm maintained a $160 price target, implying further upside from the stock’s Thursday close.
Argus pointed to SpaceX’s second-quarter performance despite concerns about its planned spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure. The company reported $7.8 billion in revenue, up 92% from a year earlier and above the roughly $6.8 billion expected by analysts.
SpaceX also recorded $3.5 billion in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, exceeding Wall Street expectations of about $2.1 billion.
Lockup expiration fails to trigger heavy selling
Relief over SpaceX’s first post-IPO lockup expiration also contributed to the rally.
Up to 911.5 million shares held by employees and early investors became eligible for sale on Thursday. The expiration increased the potential public float from about 4.9% to 11.8%, raising concerns that additional supply would push SPCX lower.
That selling pressure did not immediately appear. SpaceX shares instead gained on Thursday and extended the move on Friday, suggesting the market had already priced in much of the unlock risk.
As such, the absence of large-scale insider selling removed a key overhang for the stock. However, more shares are scheduled to become eligible for trading in later lockup tranches.
Short covering may have amplified the rally. Short interest had risen ahead of the company’s earnings and lockup expiration, leaving bearish traders exposed when the anticipated sell-off failed to occur. The scale of short covering during Friday’s session has not been confirmed.
Weak jobs report lifts U.S. growth stocks
A softer U.S. labor report provided a broader market tailwind.
Nonfarm payrolls fell by 23,000 in July, compared with economist forecasts for an increase of about 86,000. The result reduced concerns that the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates again in the near term.
Lower rate expectations tend to support growth companies because they reduce the discount applied to projected future earnings. SpaceX is particularly sensitive to changes in borrowing costs because of its planned spending on launch systems, Starlink infrastructure and AI computing capacity.
The Nasdaq Composite and semiconductor stocks also advanced during the session, indicating that at least part of the SPCX rally reflected a broader return to technology and growth shares.
ARK Invest added further support by purchasing 181,830 SpaceX shares after Wednesday’s decline. The position was valued at approximately $19.7 million based on that session’s closing price.
SPCX approaches key resistance at $131
SpaceX stock reached an important technical area following Friday’s advance.
The 4-hour chart places the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement near $130.67, close to the latest market price. A sustained move above that level could allow buyers to test the next retracement near $138.63.
SPCX also moved above the upper Bollinger Band near $128.20, showing strong short-term momentum but raising the possibility of a pullback if buyers fail to hold the breakout.
The 4-hour relative strength index rose to 59.93, above its signal average of 43.39 but below the 70 level generally associated with overbought conditions. Immediate support sits near $128, followed by the $119.34 Fibonacci level and the moving average around $115.24.
Despite the rebound, SpaceX stock remains well below its June peak above $225. The next test will be whether the shares can reclaim the company’s $135 IPO price while the market absorbs additional insider unlocks.
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