SpaceX Shares Rally 6% After Insider Lockup Period Expires

Shares of Space Exploration Technologies Corp. rallied 6% on Thursday following the expiration of a lockup period. The expiration made approximately 20% of the company—nearly one billion insider and employee shares—eligible for sale. While investors initially feared a mass sell-off, the stock steadied after a brief dip.

At the NASDAQ opening, a single overnight trade of roughly seven million shares was cleared, valued at approximately $750 million at a price of $107 per share. Analysts from D. A. Davidson & Co. noted that the stock's prior decline had already priced in the increased supply, which ultimately allowed long-term investors to build their positions during the liquidity event.

Tigress Financial Partners, LLC characterized the unlock as a technical event that accelerated the transition to a stable public float. The company's internal stability was attributed to a history of semiannual buybacks, which provided employees with liquidity before the IPO and reduced the incentive for a coordinated exit.