SpaceX stock fell to $115.94 in pre-market trading on Friday (July 25), down 1.95% from Thursday's close of $118.24. The decline reflects intensified short-selling activity, with short sellers accumulating an estimated $15.5 billion in paper profits since the company's June IPO. Around 360 million shares, equivalent to approximately 56% of freely tradable stock, were reportedly on loan to short sellers.
The stock retreat was also influenced by operational delays. SpaceX postponed its latest Starship launch from South Texas due to weather conditions affecting visibility to monitor the spacecraft's heat shield. The mission had already been delayed after several engines on the Super Heavy booster failed to ignite during a previous attempt.