SpaceX stock fell to a new all-time low on Wednesday, just hours before the company’s first Starship test flight since it went public. The stock dropped to $132.75 during trading, falling below its IPO price of $135 for the first time. The shares later recovered slightly and closed at $135.27 on Wednesday.
Event Context
The Super Heavy booster, called Booster 20, was moved back to Starbase’s Pad 2 on Wednesday, while the upper-stage spacecraft, Ship 40, was placed on top overnight before launch. The mission will also mark the second flight of Starship Version 3, which is a larger and more powerful version of the rocket introduced less than two months ago.
Also read: SpaceX stock falls 33% from peak, slips below $135 IPO price: Here’s why
Match Outlook
SpaceX stock has now fallen more than 30% from its all-time high and is down around 10% so far this year. The stock was also trading slightly lower in midday trading on Thursday, according to Yahoo Finance. Despite the weak stock performance, investors are closely watching tonight’s Starship launch because it could become a major event for the company.
SpaceX is set to carry out the 13th test flight of its Starship rocket, which is the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built. This will be the first Starship launch since SpaceX’s June 12 initial public offering (IPO). By Thursday morning, Starship had been fully assembled and was standing on top of its Super Heavy booster, ready for launch.
SpaceX said the main goal of the mission is to test whether the booster can successfully lift off, separate from Starship and return safely to an offshore landing point in the Gulf of Mexico, according to Yahoo Finance. The company also plans to test Starship’s ability to deploy 20 Starlink V3 satellites during the flight. After releasing the satellites, Starship is expected to make a controlled return to Earth and splash down in the Indian Ocean.
Investors are hoping for a successful mission because a good test flight could improve confidence in the company’s future, according to Yahoo Finance. However, Wall Street analysts are being more careful and are not expecting every test flight to go perfectly.
JPMorgan analyst Seth Seifman said there will be many things to study after Flight 13 and that SpaceX is likely to face both successes and failures as it works toward flying Starship much more often in the coming years. Seifman said SpaceX wants to launch Starship dozens of times next year, hundreds of times in 2028 and eventually thousands of times in the future, according to Yahoo Finance.
The analyst said he is paying close attention to how much time and money it takes to repair and prepare Starship’s second stage after it returns through Earth’s atmosphere, as cited by Yahoo Finance. Seifman said the biggest question for SpaceX’s long-term business is how quickly the same second-stage vehicle can be used again for another flight, because reusability is important for reducing costs. SpaceX said people can watch the Starship test flight live on the company’s official X account.
