SpaceX shares rose 11 percent on Aug. 11 to close around $148. That was about 10 percent above the $135 IPO price.

On Aug. 12, blockchain outlet Cryptopolitan reported that SpaceX has rebounded about 41 percent from its Aug. 3 low. The stock’s gain over the past week was also close to 28 percent.

The rebound also led to adjustments in brokerage targets. Daiwa Capital Markets cut its target for SpaceX to $140 from $175, while keeping a neutral rating. Compared with the Aug. 10 close of $138.74, the new target is only 0.9 percent higher. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered its valuation of SpaceX to reflect the funding burden needed in its growth process. It judged that even if revenue growth accelerates, more capital will be needed to run and expand the business.

A pullback in short positions is cited as a backdrop to the sharp rebound. S3 Partners estimated that short interest in SpaceX had fallen to about 11 percent of tradable shares as of Aug. 11. The figure had climbed as high as 34 percent at one point last week, but dropped quickly. Investors who had bet on a decline moved to cover as the shares rebounded, and the number of shares available to trade rose after the first large-scale lockup expiration.

Ihor Dusaniwsky (이호르 두사니우스키), managing director of predictive analytics at S3 Partners, said short sellers’ additional capacity to bet is limited. "Those who would go short have already run out of ammunition," he said, adding, "There is a limit to how much money can be put into a single trade." As short interest falls, selling pressure within the tradable float has also weakened relatively.

The market also focused on a new holding by Norway’s sovereign wealth fund. Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) disclosed in its semi-annual report that it holds about 0.05 percent of SpaceX. The stake is worth just over $1.2 billion. NBIM said the same day that its net profit for the first half exceeded $184.0 billion. The first-half return was 9.4 percent, and Asian technology stocks lifted performance.

Nicolai Tangen (니콜라이 탕엔), NBIM’s chief executive, said, "Good returns in equity markets, especially the performance of Asian technology stocks, drove this result." Norway’s sovereign wealth fund was created in the 1990s to manage oil and gas income and is now worth about $2.34 trillion. It invests in more than 7,000 companies across more than 50 countries and holds about 1.5 percent of the world’s listed equities.

NBIM also holds Tesla as a large investment asset linked to Elon Musk. Its Tesla stake is about 1 percent, and is said to be worth about $15.7 billion. The relationship between the two sides, however, has not always been smooth. NBIM voted against Musk’s $56.0 billion pay package in 2024, and also opposed another pay plan at Tesla’s annual shareholders meeting in late 2025 that could be worth up to $1.0 trillion.

At the time, NBIM said it "recognises the significant value created under Musk’s visionary role," but was "concerned about the overall size of compensation, dilution effects, and the absence of safeguards to mitigate key-person risk." It added that it would "continue to pursue constructive dialogue with Tesla on this issue and other matters."

SpaceX shares have recouped a significant part of the selling that followed its earnings release. Brokerages are weighing strong growth prospects against the burden of large-scale capital spending, and the future share path is expected to be influenced by the market’s judgment on an earnings recovery and additional funding needs.