Why SpaceX stock fell 23% and split Wall Street from retail traders
A test flight abort and Nasdaq debut sent shares tumbling, but some top investors see deep-value plays ahead.
SpaceX stock has split the investment world in two after a bruising 23% tumble since entering the Nasdaq-100. The divergence exposes a gulf between seasoned allocators hunting for value and retail traders watching underwater positions worsen with each trading session.
The stock sank further Friday following SpaceX's last-second abort of a Starship test flight, a setback that sent jittery retail holders deeper into losses. The timing compounded losses already baked into the recent listing, leaving smaller investors nursing positions opened at higher prices.
Mega-investor Cathie Wood, however, treated the slide as a buying opportunity, snapping up shares at depressed levels. According to Yahoo Finance reports, some Wall Street analysts project as much as 86% upside potential from current prices, a bet that the recent rout reflects temporary noise rather than fundamental deterioration. Wood's conviction trades on the premise that SpaceX's long-term rocket and satellite prospects justify riding through near-term volatility.
Yet retail and institutional investors alike remain underwater on the stock despite the sharp slide, a signal that entry points remain elevated even after the 23% haircut. The gap between optimistic analyst calls and the reality of current losses reflects two competing narratives: that SpaceX stock has gotten cheap enough to own, or that it still hasn't fallen far enough to clear out the damage from its Nasdaq debut.
When insider titans and retail traders diverge this sharply on the same asset, it typically signals neither group has fully priced in the remaining risk or opportunity. The Starship abort and Wood's contrarian buying both suggest the market has yet to settle on SpaceX's true value at the current price level.
