Short interest in SpaceX (SPCX.O) has surged ahead of the company’s first public
Earnings report and a large lock-up expiry in two days, S3 Partners data shows.
As of July 29, shorts stood at 219.3 mln shares, about 34% of the free float;
they were 23.3 mln shares when first disclosed on June 16. The current bearish
position now exceeds the size of shorts against Tesla. S3 research head Sam
Pierson said the big bet centers on the impending unlock, with markets pricing
that the earnings release is unlikely to offset the impact of a large volume of
shares hitting the market. SpaceX currently has roughly 640 mln tradable shares,
about 5% of total outstanding; S3 estimates the initial lock-up expiry will push
that to roughly 12%—more than doubling tradable supply.
