Gary Black, managing director of The Future Fund LLC, said Wednesday that SpaceX's (NASDAQ:SPCX) early trading surge may be losing its "meme stock" character now that options trading has given investors a new way to bet against the stock.
Black Says Meme Stock Dynamic May Be Ending
"I have resisted commenting on SPCX as it acts more like a meme stock than one driven by fundamentals," Black wrote on X, referring to SpaceX. He added that the dynamic "may be ending."
Black said the stock's 50% rally from its $135 initial public offering price reflected a market with few ways to sell or short the shares. IPO buyers faced lockup limits, borrowable stock for short selling was scarce, and put options were not available until Tuesday.
"While many SPCX bulls screamed ‘I told you so' when the stock was soaring, the reality was there were few outlets for selling," Black wrote.
Lockups And Short Access Become Key Tests
He said investors should revisit SpaceX's performance after lockups begin expiring in August and traders can more easily take bearish positions.
The comments follow Black's earlier skepticism about SpaceX's IPO valuation. Last month, he said he was "not that interested" in the offering and would be "more interested after it falls by 50%," arguing that the Elon Musk-led rocket and satellite company looked expensive near a $1.75 trillion valuation.
Steve Grasso, CEO of Grasso Global, pushed back on X against fears around an accelerated lockup release. He said another 10% of eligible insider shares would become available only if SpaceX closes at or above $175.50, or 30% above its IPO price, on at least five of the 10 straight trading days before second-quarter earnings. Even then, he said, the August lockup schedule would remain, with the first unlock rising from 20% to 30%.
Options Debut Triggers First SpaceX Pullback
SpaceX shares fell on Wednesday, their first decline since the company's record public debut. The pullback followed Tuesday's launch of options trading, when nearly 1.8 million contracts changed hands, Reuters reported, citing Trade Alert data. That topped the previous first-day record of about 365,000 contracts set by Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META), then Facebook, in 2012.
SpaceX's market value fell from $2.66 trillion on Tuesday to $2.57 trillion on Wednesday. Morningstar analyst Nicolas Owens estimates fair value at $780 billion, less than one-third of that level.
Price Action: SpaceX shares fell 4.95% on Wednesday to $191.82, climbing 1.75% to $195.17 in after-hours trading.
Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings show SPCX stock has a positive price trend across the short, medium and long-term.
Photo Courtesy: JRdes on Shutterstock.com
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