Shares of SpaceX fell about 2.5% to $115.26 in Friday morning trading after another postponement of the company’s Starship test mission and a new Hold recommendation from HSBC analyst Nicolas Cote-Colisson, who initiated coverage of the aerospace company with a $115 price target.

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., trading under the ticker SPCX, has now declined roughly 50% from its peak of $225.64. The stock is also trading 12% below the $135 IPO price set during the company’s June public offering.

The company’s 13th Starship orbital test has been delayed twice. The first launch window, on July 17, was called off after multiple Raptor propulsion units on the Super Heavy rocket booster experienced ignition failures. A second attempt on July 23 was canceled after weather conditions interfered with visual monitoring of the vehicle’s thermal protection system.

SpaceX later replaced several Raptor engines and carried out additional ground verification procedures. A new launch window was set for Friday evening, with coverage available through spacex.com and on X.

For the mission, the booster’s main objectives include liftoff, stage separation, a boostback burn sequence, and a controlled descent to a designated offshore location in the Gulf of America. The spacecraft’s upper stage is expected to attempt the deployment of 20 Starlink V3 satellites into orbit, test an orbital engine restart capability, and then carry out a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean. Those milestones are central to SpaceX’s effort to demonstrate that Starship can support larger satellite deployments and more complex orbital operations than its existing launch vehicles.

HSBC Diverges From Wall Street Consensus

HSBC’s Hold rating contrasts with the broader analyst view on the stock. As of Friday morning, 28 of the 37 analysts covering SpaceX, or about 76%, had Buy recommendations. The consensus price target was around $237 per share. By comparison, typical Buy-rating ratios among S&P 500 constituents range from 55% to 60%.

Cote-Colisson acknowledged SpaceX’s achievements but urged caution for investors. He pointed to possible pressure on the stock as lockup restrictions for early backers expire in the months after the company’s June public debut. Lockup expirations are closely watched after IPOs because they can increase the number of shares eligible for sale, even if individual holders do not necessarily sell.

The company’s first quarterly earnings release is scheduled for August 4 and is expected to be a closely watched event. Cote-Colisson said SpaceX will need to show strong growth in its Starlink business to support further gains in the share price. Starlink remains a key part of the equity story because the satellite internet business links SpaceX’s launch cadence with recurring customer revenue.

Short Sellers Hold Large Positions After IPO

Investors betting against SpaceX have built significant positions since the company went public. Short sellers have generated about $15.5 billion in mark-to-market gains since the public offering, with roughly 360 million SpaceX shares currently borrowed. That represents about 56% of the freely available float.

After two consecutive gains of more than 19% in the sessions immediately following the IPO, SpaceX shares have fallen in 17 of the last 26 trading days. The decline included a seven-session losing streak that ended Tuesday, followed by a 6.7% drop on Wednesday.

Alphabet disclosed a major SpaceX investment this week, reporting holdings valued at about $94.1 billion at the end of June. The subsequent decline in SpaceX’s share price has reduced the current market value of that position.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 program has shown steadier execution. The company successfully launched 24 Starlink satellites from its California facility on July 21, one day after an unusual last-minute launch scrub. The contrast between Falcon 9’s operational cadence and Starship’s test-flight delays underscores the different stages of the two programs: one is an established launch system, while the other remains in active development and flight testing.