SpaceX shares fell more than 6% on Thursday, extending losses from the previous session as enthusiasm surrounding the company’s record-setting public debut showed signs of fading.
The decline followed a sharp rally that had lifted the stock more than 50% above its $135 offering price and briefly pushed the company’s valuation close to $3 trillion.
Despite the pullback, the stock remained more than 30% above its IPO price.
If losses persist, the company’s market value could shrink by more than $150 billion in a single day, according to Reuters calculations.
Analysts said some profit-taking was expected following the strongest IPO debut in market history.
Shares traded near $179 on Thursday afternoon after falling nearly 5% in the previous session.
The selloff left the company down roughly 20% from a peak above $225 reached earlier this week.
According to Forbes, the decline erased about $620 billion in market value from Tuesday’s high, reducing SpaceX’s valuation to roughly $2.37 trillion.
Other space-related companies also moved lower, with Rocket Lab, Planet Labs, AST SpaceMobile and Intuitive Machines posting declines.
Retail investor demand remained strong during SpaceX’s first three trading sessions, with net purchases exceeding $300 million.
However, buying activity slowed sharply on Thursday, with Vanda Research reporting only $9.1 million in net purchases by mid-afternoon.
Analysts have repeatedly warned that the stock could experience significant volatility because of its relatively small public float and high valuation.
Investor attention has increasingly shifted to SpaceX’s planned $60 billion all-stock acquisition of AI coding startup Cursor.
The transaction represents roughly 3.4% dilution of existing shareholder stakes based on the company’s IPO valuation.
Morningstar lowered its fair value estimate for SpaceX, citing the impact of the dilution and concerns surrounding valuation.
At the same time, the company is preparing to discuss a bond offering of at least $20 billion with investors as it seeks funding for its AI expansion plans.
Some analysts remained optimistic, arguing the Cursor acquisition could strengthen SpaceX’s position in enterprise AI by providing technology, engineering talent, training data and a larger user base.
Others continued to question whether the company’s valuation can be justified as investors reassess the costs and risks associated with its AI ambitions.