SPCX Stock Jumps 16% as SpaceX Rocket Moon Crash Images Emerge

SpaceX stock surged nearly 16% Friday, ending a four-week slide even as hundreds of millions of previously restricted shares became eligible for sale. The rally came during an unusually eventful week for SpaceX, with strong quarterly revenue, renewed Wall Street optimism and fresh images showing the aftermath of a spent Falcon 9 upper stage crashing into the moon.

Shares of SpaceX, which trade on Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX, closed Friday at $133.11, up about 15.8% for the session. That left the stock just 1.4% below its $135 initial public offering price and marked its strongest daily gain since the company went public in June.

The Backpack chart supplied for this article shows SPCX climbing sharply from around $115 during Friday’s session, breaking above $124 and then extending the rally toward the $134 area. Weekend trading on the platform later showed the price around $132.15, a modest pullback from Friday’s regular-market close.

Why Is SpaceX Stock Up?

The rebound came despite the expiration of SpaceX’s first major post-IPO lockup. As many as 912 million shares held by employees and early investors became eligible for sale Thursday, more than doubling the amount of stock potentially available to trade. The prospect of additional supply had weighed heavily on SPCX before the expiration.

Instead of triggering another sharp sell-off, the event appears to have removed some uncertainty around SpaceX stock. Investors also had fresh fundamental reasons to reconsider the company after SpaceX reported $7.8 billion in second-quarter revenue, up about 90% from a year earlier, while its quarterly loss narrowed to $541 million.

Wall Street sentiment remains broadly supportive. Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas initiated SpaceX coverage with an Overweight rating and a $300 price target, while Argus upgraded the stock to Buy following the earnings report and maintained a $160 target.

Falcon 9 Moon Crash Adds a Separate SpaceX News Catalyst

SpaceX was also drawing global attention after a spent Falcon 9 upper stage struck the moon on Aug. 5 at about 5,400 mph.

The hardware, identified as object 2025-010D, came from the January 2025 launch that carried Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost and ispace’s Resilience lunar landers. Researchers had tracked the stage and predicted its impact near the Einstein and Bell crater region.

South Korea’s Danuri lunar orbiter has now captured before-and-after images of the impact area. The pictures show newly darkened terrain and a fresh crater where the Falcon 9 stage hit. NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is expected to make additional observations of the site.

Importantly, the object was the Falcon 9’s expendable upper stage, not the reusable first-stage booster commonly seen landing after SpaceX launches.

There is no evidence that the moon impact itself caused Friday’s SpaceX stock rally. For investors, the more immediate drivers were earnings, analyst commentary and relief surrounding the share unlock. Still, the lunar crash has put SpaceX at the center of another high-profile story just as SPCX attempts to recover toward its $135 IPO price.