🕒 Created · Updated

SpaceX stock faces pressure from Chinese startup LandSpace's first orbital-class booster recovery and upcoming share unlocks.

SpaceX stock closed down 2.6% on Wednesday after the Chinese startup LandSpace successfully landed its first stage of the Zhuque-3 rocket on a pad in northwest China. This milestone marks the the first time a Chinese company has recovered an orbital-class booster on land, narrowing the competitive gap between SpaceX and its rivals. While SpaceX has landed boosters more than 600 times since 2015, LandSpace's achievement demonstrates that reusable rocketry is no longer a unique SpaceX achievement. Additionally, SpaceX faces structural pressure from a staggered lockup period. Approximately 319 million shares held by early employees and investors are set to become tradable on Thursday, representing a portion of the 88% of SpaceX's 13 billion shares that will be released through 2027. The stock previously showed resilience during a large share unlock on August 6, which saw the stock rise 6% despite the increased supply. Investors are closely watching these upcoming unlocks to gauge the market's reaction to the increased share availability.

Sources