SpaceX stock fell more than 6% on Thursday to just under $179, extending a sharp decline that has erased much of the aerospace company’s post-IPO gains following its announcement of a $60 billion all-stock acquisition of AI coding startup Cursor.
The selloff represents a dramatic reversal from SpaceX’s blockbuster debut on June 12, when shares opened at $150—an 11% jump from the $135 IPO price—and soared to a peak above $225 on Tuesday as the company announced the Cursor deal. Thursday’s losses capped a two-day decline that wiped roughly $620 billion from SpaceX’s market value, lowering it to $2.37 trillion from about $2.99 trillion at its Tuesday peak, according to Forbes.
SpaceX’s acquisition of Anysphere, the company behind the popular AI coding agent Cursor, was disclosed on Tuesday as an all-stock transaction expected to close in the third quarter of 2026. The deal represents roughly 3.4% dilution to existing shareholders, according to Forbes, meaning investor stakes will represent a smaller percentage of the company following the merger.
Analyst concerns about the acquisition’s cost and SpaceX’s valuation have driven the recent retreat. Morningstar lowered its fair value estimate for SpaceX to $62 per share from $63, citing what it called “sizable dilution” from the Cursor deal, according to Yahoo Finance. The firm noted that even in a best-case scenario where SpaceX’s AI revenue improves significantly, shares could reach $169—well below current trading levels.
The stock decline marks a sharp departure from the record-setting investor appetite that characterized SpaceX’s first days as a public company. Retail investors purchased $369.8 million worth of SpaceX shares over its first three sessions, more than four times the volume that flowed into Nvidia during the same period, according to Vanda Research data cited by Forbes. By Thursday, that enthusiasm had cooled significantly, with only $9.1 million in net retail purchases as of 2 p.m. ET, according to Reuters.
Oppenheimer analyst Timothy Horan offered a contrasting view, arguing the Cursor acquisition could benefit SpaceX shareholders. In a Thursday note, Horan said the deal could push SpaceX shares to $250 by year-end, up from his earlier $190 target, citing synergies between Cursor’s AI technology and SpaceX’s computing infrastructure, according to Forbes.
The broader space sector also declined on Thursday. Rocket Lab, Planet Labs, AST SpaceMobile, and Intuitive Machines all fell between 3% and 7%, according to Reuters, suggesting profit-taking extended beyond SpaceX itself. IPOX Schuster analyst Kat Liu noted that “some degree of profit-taking is not surprising” given the magnitude of the IPO and strong initial performance, according to Reuters.
SpaceX remains more than 30% above its IPO price despite the recent pullback. The company’s bankers are preparing to discuss a bond offering of at least $20 billion with investors as early as next week to fund its ambitious AI expansion, according to a source cited by Reuters.
Sources
- Forbes — SpaceX stock decline, market value loss, Morningstar fair value estimate, analyst commentary, retail investor activity
- Reuters — SpaceX stock price decline on June 18, post-IPO frenzy cooling, broader space sector declines, analyst commentary, bond offering plans
- Yahoo Finance — Morningstar’s lowered fair value estimate and downside scenario
- TechCrunch — Cursor acquisition announcement and timing relative to IPO
- CNBC — Cursor acquisition details and dilution percentage
