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Elon Musk warned that investors betting on SpaceX have little chance of survival, even though short sellers have increased their bets on the company to about 32% of publicly traded shares ahead of several key catalysts.
S3 Partners estimates that about 206 million SpaceX shares are currently sold short, representing about 32% of the company’s publicly traded shares and about $25 billion in bearish equity. This is up from about 185 million shares last week, or 29% of the float, and a significant increase from the estimated 40 million shares (about 5-7% of the float) about a month ago.
“We continue to see short sellers adding exposure ahead of several important upcoming triggers, including the company’s first earnings report as a public company and subsequent lockup expirations,” Matthew Unterman, head of research at S3, told CNBC.
Musk responded to the increased short interest in his posts about X by predicting that investors who had bet on the company would ultimately lose.
“It is highly unlikely that a company that maintains a significant short position in SpaceX for an extended period of time will survive,” Musk wrote. “I said SpaceX would be worth more than Earth if we hit our goals, and that’s clearly the case.”
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SpaceX confirmed Tuesday that it will release its first quarterly earnings report as a publicly traded company after U.S. markets close on Aug. 4. The results give investors the first detailed look at the company’s performance since its initial public offering and could be a new test for both bulls and short sellers.
The bearish stance is growing as investors weigh SpaceX’s long-term prospects against its valuation and the possibility that additional shares will become available after lock-up restrictions expire. Bulls point to the company’s leadership in launch services, Starlink expansion and artificial intelligence ambitions, while skeptics question how much future growth is already reflected in the stock price.
SpaceX shares rose about 4% on Tuesday, on pace to end a seven-session losing streak, after Macquarie analysts reiterated the company’s outperform rating and urged investors to buy into recent weakness. The stock price rose to around $125, but it is still below its initial price of $135, due to a significant drop after the company went public.
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