Bearish wagers against SpaceX have eclipsed those against Tesla as investors brace for the rocket company's first earnings report as a public company and a series of insider share unlocks that could sharply expand the stock's public float:
Notional short interest in SpaceX has climbed to about $23.6 billion, topping Tesla's roughly $22 billion, according to S3 Partners:
Short sellers now hold an estimated 206 million SpaceX shares, or 32.2% of the company's publicly tradable float, ahead of Tuesday's quarterly results and the first insider lockup expiration on Thursday:
When the company began trading on June 12, only about 40 million SpaceX shares were sold short, representing roughly 5% to 7% of its publicly tradable float:
Overtaking Tesla is particularly notable because the electric-vehicle maker has long been one of Wall Street's favorite targets for short sellers:
Unlike Tesla, SpaceX is not yet included in the S&P 500 or other major U.S. equity indexes, meaning its shares are held by a narrower universe of investors:
The first lockup expiration this week will make roughly 20% to 30% of previously restricted insider shares eligible for sale:
"We have found many investors unwilling to buy SpaceX shares in the interim, based on fundamentals, given the lockup overhang that will exist at least into December," Bernstein analysts said in a note:
