SpaceX stock fell on Friday as Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, clashed with Elon Musk over Binance’s reported $6.3 billion security incident. Zhao asked Musk to stop trolling and cited Binance’s SpaceX holdings, which he valued at more than $1 billion.

The dispute unfolded as U.S. technology stocks extended their losses. SPCX shares fell 4.71% to $137.11, while Wall Street analysts maintained a Strong Buy consensus and an average 12-month price target of $250.34.

Binance’s CZ Asks Elon Musk to Stop Trolling

Musk had responded with a grimacing emoji to an online discussion about Binance’s losses and its ability to reimburse customers. Zhao replied directly: “Elon, have a lot of respect for you, but bad time to troll. Please stop.” The post is available on X.

In the same post, CZ said Binance’s SPCX holdings were worth more than $1 billion. He linked the holdings to a $500 million investment in Musk’s 2022 acquisition of Twitter and asked Musk for support. The exchange of words underscored that the 2022 Twitter investment still ties Binance’s holdings to Musk’s companies.

The exchange followed Binance’s disclosure of a security incident involving more than $6.3 billion in crypto assets. Blockchain investigators TRM Labs and Chainalysis attributed the theft to North Korea’s TraderTraitor group, although investigations remain ongoing.

Binance subsequently reserved more than $6.34 billion in company funds to cover the losses. Co-CEO Yi He said the company’s annual revenue could cover the damage without selling its SpaceX shares. CZ later clarified that he had never proposed selling the holdings. Taken together, the reserve and Yi He’s remarks addressed the reimbursement questions circulating online and signaled that Binance intended to absorb the losses through company funds rather than by liquidating its SpaceX stake.

SPCX Stock Declines as U.S. Technology Shares Sell Off

SpaceX stock joined a broader technology selloff, falling to $137.11 from Thursday’s closing price of $143.89. The shares opened at $137.85 and declined as low as $135.91 before buyers pushed them back to $140.20. The recovery did not erase the day’s losses as selling continued across U.S. technology stocks.

The downturn followed disappointing earnings and forecasts from Amazon and Intel, which added to concerns about rising artificial intelligence spending. According to reports, the Nasdaq-100 recorded more than $1 trillion in market-value losses during Friday’s trading session. Investors also considered the growing cost of AI infrastructure as technology shares remained under pressure.

Friday’s decline extended a difficult October for SpaceX stock. Around 1.3 billion restricted shares became eligible for trading after insider lockup restrictions expired, giving insiders the option to sell during a difficult month for the stock.

Analysts Maintain $250 Average SPCX Price Target

Despite the decline, Wall Street analysts maintained higher price targets for SpaceX after the company’s latest earnings report. According to TipRanks, 35 analysts have an average 12-month SPCX price target of $250.34.

Based on the $137.11 share price, that average target implies 82.6% upside. Individual forecasts range from $140 to $500, while the overall consensus remains Strong Buy. The spread between the lowest and highest forecasts shows how widely analyst views on the company diverge, even within a consensus dominated by Buy ratings.

Needham analyst Ryan Koontz maintained a Buy rating and a $250 price target. Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas set a $300 target, and Bernstein analyst Douglas Harned raised his forecast from $248 to $268. Bank of America Securities analyst Ronald Epstein also maintained a Buy rating on SpaceX.

The consensus consists of 29 Buy recommendations, five Hold ratings, and one Sell rating.

The forecasts followed SpaceX’s third-quarter earnings report, which showed revenue increasing 161% year over year to $14.6 billion. Net income reached $4.4 billion, compared with a $1.1 billion loss in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

This article provides information, not investment advice. Stock prices and analyst targets are uncertain and involve the potential for losses.

Source: The Market Periodical