The euphoric phase for SpaceX (SPCX) appeared over. The stock market did not respond well to the newly listed firm’s plans to raise $20 billion in debt.
Before its IPO, SpaceX bought Twitter. It borrowed debt to pay for the transaction. After the listing, investors expected the firm to use the proceeds to pay down maturing bonds.
Instead, SpaceX might refinance its existing debt. That is bad news for new shareholders. It will still have high debt on its balance sheet.
Days after the listing, SpaceX took advantage of its strong share price that traded as high as $225.64. It announced it would buy Cursor, an AI firm, in an all-stock transaction. With SPCX stock closing down by 16.43% to $154.60 on June 22, Cursor’s $60 billion price will fall.
Analysts at Oppenheimer tried to characterize the company as being “vertically integrated.” That would suggest a total addressable market of $25 trillion. The thesis is flawed, since it requires SpaceX to have a fabrication facility to make chips, dominance in AI, a commanding lead in solar panels, and little to no competition in the satellite and rocket ship market.
In the latter case, investors could buy Viasat (VSAT) shares at a discount. AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) and Rocket Lab (RKLB) entered a bear phase. When their share price falls, investors might sell SPCX stock and buy those two stocks instead.
