Slides As Second Post-IPO Lockup Frees 319M Shares

SPCX closed at $133.93 on August 20, 2026, down 4.10% from the prior close of $139.65, on volume of 108,635,031 shares.

Executive Summary

SPCX sold off Thursday as the stock's second post-IPO lockup expiration freed roughly 319 million shares for trading, adding supply to a name that is barely two months into public trading. The stock opened at $137.20, pushed to a session high of $137.88 early, then gave up ground through the day to a low of $130.39 before closing at $133.93, a decline of 4.10% versus Wednesday's close of $139.65. Volume of 108.6 million shares ran well above the prior session's 76.7 million, consistent with the lockup-driven supply event cited in Thursday's coverage.

The pullback follows a sharp August recovery: SPCX bottomed near $108.27 on August 5 and rallied as high as $146.23 by August 17 before rolling over for three straight sessions into today's close. Coverage during the session also touched on SpaceX's broader business, including Elon Musk's comments on Starship reuse progress and a potential first Mechazilla tower catch, and continued attention to SpaceX's role as a large compute customer for Anthropic and as a top holding in Nvidia's investment portfolio. None of that commentary changes the price or volume figures recorded for the session.

News

1. Billionaire John Malone Buys 51K Liberty Latin America Shares. What Does This Mean for Investors?

Billionaire John Malone purchased 50,696 shares of Liberty Latin America (LILA) indirectly through a charitable remainder unitrust, increasing his total beneficial ownership to approximately 4.0 million shares (1% of Class A Common Shares). The $430,661 transaction is viewed as a bullish signal, as insider purchases typically indicate confidence in future share price appreciation. Liberty Latin America, a Caribbean and Central American telecommunications provider with $4.5 billion in TTM revenue, is expected to improve profitability with analysts forecasting accelerated sales growth and stronger cash flow in 2027. (The Motley Fool, Aug 20, 3:12 PM ET)

2. xAI Just Did in 2.3 Years What Took SpaceX Nearly Two Decades

It took SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) nearly two decades to reach a $100 billion valuation. xAI did it in just 2.3 years. (Benzinga, Aug 20, 2:06 PM ET)

3. This Small-Cap Space Stock Could Be a Long-Term Moonshot

Spire Global, a satellite-based data and analytics company, has seen its stock decline from $83.36 to $13 per share since going public via SPAC five years ago. Despite past overpromising, the company's core business is recovering with expected revenue growth of 11% in 2026 and 24% in 2027, while narrowing losses. Trading at less than 7x sales with a $536M enterprise value, Spire may represent a hidden gem in the growing space sector. (The Motley Fool, Aug 20, 1:10 PM ET)

4. SpaceX Stock Slides as Second Lockup Expires

SpaceX shares are dropping on Thursday as the company's second post-IPO lockup expiration frees up roughly 319 million shares for trading. (Benzinga, Aug 20, 11:33 AM ET)

5. Elon Musk Says Starship Reuse Is Near After Years of Delays: What Do Prediction Markets Say?

Elon Musk says SpaceX is nearing full Starship reuse after years of delays, but prediction-market traders remain skeptical about the next milestones. (Benzinga, Aug 20, 10:39 AM ET)

6. SpaceX's Second Unlock Hits: 319 Million Shares Go Loose Today

SpaceX faces second post-IPO lockup expiration with 319 million shares becoming eligible for trading on Thursday. (Benzinga, Aug 20, 9:41 AM ET)

7. Rocket Lab CEO Says $8 Billion Iridium Deal Won’t Take on Elon Musk’s Starlink — Don’t Intend to 'Directly Compete,’ But Plans Something That 'Hasn’t Been Seen Before’

Rocket Lab CEO Beck backs Iridium acquisition, reaffirms it won't compete directly with satellite-based internet services (Benzinga, Aug 20, 7:58 AM ET)

8. ‘It’s Done’: Investor Warns Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Can’t Beat the S&P 500 — Bets on PayPal and Intel Instead

Investor Tom Hayes warns Berkshire Hathaway is "done." Discover why he's betting big on turnaround stocks like PayPal and Intel instead. (Benzinga, Aug 20, 7:44 AM ET)

Price Action

Metric	Value
Open	$137.20
High	$137.88
Low	$130.39
Close	$133.93
Change vs prior close	-4.10%
Volume	108,635,031
Intraday range	$7.49
Close vs IPO offer price ($135.00)	-0.79%

The session opened at $137.20, essentially flat to slightly above the prior close, then made a marginal new high of $137.88 before sellers took control. The low of $130.39 came later in the session, and the close at $133.93 recovered only partway off that low. Volume of 108,635,031 shares was above both the prior session's 76,659,161 shares and the average volume to date of 117,139,880 shares is not exceeded, but the day-over-day jump in turnover lines up with the lockup expiration reported in the day's news. The close of $133.93 sits just below the $135.00 IPO offer price and remains well under the $160.95 first-day close from June 12.

SPCX gave back the prior session's gain and closed essentially at the IPO offer price, with volume elevated on lockup-driven supply.

Technicals

SPCX has roughly 47 trading days of history since its June 12, 2026 IPO. That is enough for shorter-window measures like RSI-14 and the 20-day moving average to compute, but the 50-day and 200-day moving averages are not yet available and will not be for months — readers should weight the shorter-window reads accordingly and not treat them as equivalent to a seasoned, multi-year chart.

Trend

The stock rallied from a recent low of $108.27 on August 5 to $146.23 on August 17, then pulled back for three consecutive sessions — $143.34 on August 18, $139.65 on August 19, and $133.93 today — each a lower close than the last. The 5-day SMA of $140.63 and 5-day EMA of $138.60 both sit above today's close, and the 10-day SMA of $139.57 does as well, indicating the short-term trend has turned down after the mid-August advance. The 20-day SMA of $126.84 remains well below the current price, reflecting the sharp August recovery still embedded in that longer short-term average.

Candle read

Today's candle has a body of -3.27 (open $137.20 to close $133.93, a down day), an upper wick of 0.68, and a lower wick of 3.54 — the lower wick is more than five times the upper wick. That shape shows the session pushed to a new low of $130.39 before buyers stepped in and lifted price off the low into the close. The close-location value of 0.47 means the close settled just under the midpoint of the day's $7.49 range, closer to the middle than to either extreme: a partial recovery attempt that was not enough to turn the session positive.

Support levels

• $130.39 — today's intraday low
• $126.84 — 20-day SMA
• $125.00 — nearest round number below the 20-day SMA

Resistance levels

• $135.00 — IPO offer price, now overhead after today's close settled below it
• $137.88 — today's intraday high
• $139.57–$140.63 — 10-day SMA and 5-day SMA cluster
• $139.65 — prior session's close

Momentum interpretation

RSI-14 stands at 50.03, at the midpoint of its range and not signaling either overbought or oversold conditions.

Bull scenario: a move back above $135.00 (IPO offer price) followed by a close through $137.88 (today's high) and the $139.57–$140.63 short-term moving-average cluster would indicate the pullback is stabilizing and buyers are reasserting the mid-August uptrend.

Bear scenario: a break below $130.39 (today's low) opens the path toward the 20-day SMA at $126.84 and the $125.00 round number, extending the three-day pullback.

Neutral scenario: continued consolidation between $130.39 and $137.88 while the market digests the roughly 319 million newly unlocked shares reported today.

Trading Takeaway

SPCX closed lower for a third straight session on volume above the prior day's, in a move tied to the second post-IPO lockup expiration. The close at $133.93 sits just under the $135.00 IPO offer price, a level that had generally acted as support through recent sessions and now sits as the first hurdle on any recovery attempt. For the next session, the key levels to watch are $130.39 on the downside (today's low) and $135.00–$137.88 on the upside (offer price through today's high).

Sources

1. Billionaire John Malone Buys 51K Liberty Latin America Shares. What Does This Mean for Investors? — The Motley Fool — https://www.fool.com/coverage/filings/2026/08/20/billionaire-john-malone-buys-51k-liberty-latin-america-shares-what-does-this-mean-for-investors/?source=iedfolrf0000001
2. xAI Just Did in 2.3 Years What Took SpaceX Nearly Two Decades — Benzinga — https://www.benzinga.com/markets/private-markets/26/08/61340294/xai-just-did-in-2-3-years-what-took-spacex-nearly-two-decades
3. This Small-Cap Space Stock Could Be a Long-Term Moonshot — The Motley Fool — https://www.fool.com/investing/2026/08/20/this-small-cap-space-stock-could-be-a-long-term-mo/?source=iedfolrf0000001
4. SpaceX Stock Slides as Second Lockup Expires — Benzinga — https://www.benzinga.com/trading-ideas/movers/26/08/61334800/spacex-stock-slides-as-second-lockup-expires
5. Elon Musk Says Starship Reuse Is Near After Years of Delays: What Do Prediction Markets Say? — Benzinga — https://www.benzinga.com/markets/prediction-markets/26/08/61332231/starship-reuse-elon-musk-traders
6. SpaceX's Second Unlock Hits: 319 Million Shares Go Loose Today — Benzinga — https://www.benzinga.com/trading-ideas/movers/26/08/61329245/spacexs-second-unlock-hits-319-million-shares-go-loose-today
7. Rocket Lab CEO Says $8 Billion Iridium Deal Won't Take on Elon Musk's Starlink — Don't Intend to 'Directly Compete,' But Plans Something That 'Hasn't Been Seen Before' — Benzinga — https://www.benzinga.com/news/space/26/08/61325288/rocket-lab-ceo-says-8-billion-iridium-deal-wont-take-on-elon-musks-starlink-dont-intend-to-directly-compete-but-plans-something-that-hasnt
8. 'It's Done': Investor Warns Warren Buffett's Berkshire Can't Beat the S&P 500 — Bets on PayPal and Intel Instead — Benzinga — https://www.benzinga.com/markets/equities/26/08/61325109/its-done-investor-warns-warren-buffetts-berkshire-cant-beat-the-sp-500-bets-on-paypal-and-intel-instead
9. Bernie Sanders Warns AI Billionaires Could 'Obliterate' Jobs and 'Destroy the Environment,' Calls for Data Center Moratorium — Benzinga — https://www.benzinga.com/markets/tech/26/08/61324167/bernie-sanders-warns-ai-billionaires-could-obliterate-jobs-and-destroy-the-environment-calls-for-data-center-moratorium
10. Elon Musk Says SPCX Could Make History in the 'Next Few Months' With First-Ever Starship Tower Catch — Benzinga — https://www.benzinga.com/news/space/26/08/61323740/elon-musk-says-spcx-could-make-history-in-the-next-few-months-with-first-ever-starship-tower-catch
11. Elon Musk Denies SpaceX Sought to Buy AI Startup Cognition, Says Talks Only Centered on Grok — Benzinga — https://www.benzinga.com/markets/tech/26/08/61323667/elon-musk-denies-spacex-sought-to-buy-ai-startup-cognition-says-talks-only-centered-on-grok
12. Anthropic's Revenue Run Rate Just Hit $65 Billion. SpaceX and Amazon May Be the Biggest Winners. — The Motley Fool — https://www.fool.com/investing/2026/08/20/anthropics-revenue-run-rate-just-hit-65-billion-amazon-and-spacex-may-be-the-biggest-winners/?source=iedfolrf0000001
13. 'Elon Musk's X is exploring stablecoins to pay influencers and content providers' - CoinDesk — Benzinga — https://www.benzinga.com/news/26/08/61323239/elon-musk-s-x-exploring-stablecoins-pay-influencers-and-content-providers-coindesk
14. SpaceX Is Up 25% in August. Meet the 7 Vanguard ETFs That Just Bought More Shares. — The Motley Fool — https://www.fool.com/investing/2026/08/20/spacex-is-up-25-in-august-meet-the-7-vanguard-etfs/?source=iedfolrf0000001
15. Nvidia's $63 Billion Investment Portfolio Has a New No. 2 Holding — The Motley Fool — https://www.fool.com/investing/2026/08/20/nvda-63-billion-investment-portfolio-no-2-holding/?source=iedfolrf0000001
16. Elon Musk Says China Is 'By Far' Strongest AI Competitor, Echoing 2011 Warning as SPCX Faces New Rocket Rival — Benzinga — https://www.benzinga.com/markets/tech/26/08/61321458/elon-musk-says-china-is-by-far-strongest-ai-competitor-echoing-2011-warning-as-spcx-faces-new-rocket-rival
17. Alpaca Markets (SIP) — market data

Disclaimer

This report is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, a recommendation, or a solicitation to buy or sell any security. Data is sourced from Alpaca Markets and the cited news providers and may contain errors or delays. Verify all figures independently before making any financial decision.