SpaceX shares slipped Tuesday even as Wall Street's largest investment banks launched coverage with overwhelmingly bullish recommendations, arguing the recent weakness does little to diminish the company's long-term prospects, Yahoo Finance reports.
As of approximately 2:32 p.m. EDT, SpaceX (SPCX) was trading at about $152 per share, down roughly 5% on the day as investors digested its first day in the Nasdaq-100.
The stock remains above its $135 IPO price, but is well below its post-IPO high of $225.64.
The stock, whose legal name is Space Exploration Technologies Corp., has traded near its initial public offering level after roughly three weeks on the public market — but analysts say upcoming inclusion in the Nasdaq-100 could bring additional demand as index funds begin purchasing shares.
Nearly every major firm initiating coverage assigned a Buy, Overweight, or Outperform rating.
JPMorgan Chase began coverage with an Overweight rating and a $225 price target, calling SpaceX's ambitions among the most significant ever pursued by a public company. The bank said the company still has substantial upside despite already commanding a valuation above $2 trillion.
Morgan Stanley issued an Overweight rating with a $300 price target — the highest among the major firms — citing SpaceX's dominant launch business, expanding low-Earth-orbit satellite network and growing artificial intelligence infrastructure operations.
Bank of America also gave SPCX a Buy rating, with a $235 price target, saying SpaceX has evolved beyond launch services into a foundational player in the emerging space economy, with reusable rocket technology creating opportunities for future growth.
Goldman Sachs started coverage with a Buy rating and a $205 target, saying the company is positioned to capitalize on multiple large markets, including reusable launch systems, satellite communications and AI computing.
Bernstein assigned an Outperform rating and $239 price target, saying the key investment question is whether — not if — SpaceX ultimately achieves its long-term objectives.
While Bernstein expects AI-related revenue to develop more slowly than management projects, it believes the company will eventually reach those milestones.
RBC Capital Markets also rated the shares Outperform, with a $225 target, acknowledging execution risks surrounding SpaceX's space ambitions but pointing to its history of technological disruption, vast addressable markets and deep financial resources.
Macquarie initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $250 price target, highlighting the company's vertical integration, first-mover advantage, engineering expertise and expanding AI partnerships as competitive strengths.
UBS assigned a Buy rating and a $210 target, describing SpaceX as a collection of unique assets with multiple long-term growth drivers. The firm said Starship could unlock significant opportunities across launch services, communications and AI infrastructure.
Deutsche Bank began coverage with a Buy rating and a $255 price target, arguing the company has built formidable competitive advantages across transportation, connectivity and AI that few rivals can realistically challenge.
Mizuho was the last investment bank to initiate coverage with an Outperform rating. Mizuho’s target for SpaceX is $200. It emphasized that investors should view SpaceX as an infrastructure company rather than simply a rocket manufacturer.
While acknowledging that some AI and orbital data-center opportunities remain unproven, the bank believes investors are underestimating the company's long-term optionality.
The broad consensus from Wall Street suggests analysts view SpaceX as far more than an aerospace company.
Instead, the “smart money” sees it as a long-term infrastructure play spanning space transportation, satellite broadband, artificial intelligence and next-generation computing.
Wall Street's biggest investment banks officially initiated analyst coverage of SpaceX on July 7, issuing overwhelmingly bullish Buy, Overweight and Outperform ratings just as the company officially joined the Nasdaq-100 Index.
The fast-tracked addition to the benchmark technology index is expected to trigger billions of dollars in buying by index funds and ETFs that track the Nasdaq-100.