Retail Investors Just Sold Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SPCX) for the First Time. The Stock Also Just Reclaimed Its IPO Price

Retail Investors Just Sold Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SPCX) for the First Time. The Stock Also Just Reclaimed Its IPO Price

Fatima Gulzar

Mon, August 17, 2026 at 5:49 PM GMT+3 3 min read

• SPCX +6.43%

Retail investors sold a net $4.5 million of Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:SPCX) stock on August 7. It was the first day of net selling since the company's June 12 debut, according to Vanda Research data cited by Reuters. Two days earlier, the same retail crowd had been fourth-highest in net buying since the IPO. On Monday (August 10), shares reclaimed their $135 IPO price for the first time since mid-July.

Why This Matters

Retail investors backed Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:SPCX) during tough times and only sold once the stock got back to its original price. That timing raises a real question: is this the start of a genuine shift in sentiment, or just ordinary profit-taking after a rebound?

Source: Pexels

The Bull Case

The August 7 net selling was modest by Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:SPCX)'s own trading history, just $4.5 million against a single-day record of $144.6 million in net buying back on June 16. Shares jumped nearly 23% last week and reclaimed the IPO price Monday. eToro market analyst Sam North said the shift looked less like panic and more like normal behavior, noting it is "usually a mix of profit-taking, position fatigue, and investors reassessing." Retail traders also remain deeply engaged with the stock, which was the second most-mentioned ticker on Reddit's r/WallStreetBets over the past week, per sentiment aggregator SwaggyStocks.

The Bear Case

The reversal comes after a rough period: shares surged as much as 67% above the $135 IPO price in June before giving back all those gains, then fell more than 22% below the debut price in August, closing under the IPO price every single day from July 16 until this week. Vanda's Jai Malhi estimates retail traders paid $147 on average for their shares since the IPO, which means much of the recent buying was already underwater before Friday's selling began. Aptus Capital Advisors portfolio manager David Wagner said plainly that "many investors are simply unwilling to buy Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:SPCX) shares" given the lock-up overhang, which won't fully clear until December, when the number of shares available to trade jumps to 5.33 billion.

Insider Monkey's Hedge Fund Data

SpaceX doesn't appear in Insider Monkey's hedge fund database, since it only went public in June 2026. A key satellite-broadband rival, AST SpaceMobile, had roughly 39 hedge fund holders as of Q1 2026. Rocket Lab had 43 holders.

Conclusion

One day of modest selling doesn't undo months of retail loyalty, but it is the first sign of weakening in a buying spree that started when Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:SPCX) went public.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.