Skip to navigationSkip to main contentSkip to right columnADVERTISEMENTDavid MoadelFri, June 12, 2026 at 4:18 PM GMT+2 5 min readQuick ReadSPCE cratered 24%, RKLB fell 8%, and ASTS dropped 10% on SpaceX's trading debut, sharply reversing year-to-date gains of 79% and 65%, respectively.Rocket Lab posted record Q1 revenue of $200 million with a $2.2 billion backlog, dwarfing Virgin Galactic's $227,000 quarterly haul.SpaceX's first-hour tape could determine whether capital keeps rotating out of listed space stocks or snaps back into RKLB, SPCE, and ASTS.Act now: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and AST SpaceMobile didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today.Shares of Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE) are down 24% in early Friday trading, while Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) stock is down 8% and AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) stock is trading 10% lower. These price moves arrive on the same morning that privately held SpaceX is making its long-awaited trading debut.Who is Danny / Shutterstock.comThe selloff is jarring given the surrounding hype. Virgin Galactic stock entered the session up 79% year to date at $5.73, and Rocket Lab stock was sitting on a 65% year-to-date gain heading into Friday. Meanwhile, AST SpaceMobile shares are up 21% in 2026 so far.That makes today's action a sharp reversal rather than a trend continuation. Traders are clearly rotating out of the publicly listed space names just as the sector's marquee private name lists for the first time.The catalyst is the SpaceX trading debut happening today. According to its filing, SpaceX grew its Launch Services revenue by $620 million in 2024 as total Falcon launches rose from 96 in 2023 to 134 in 2024, with Starlink deployments climbing from 63 launches in 2023 to 89 in 2024.That cadence advantage is what's pressuring the listed peers. SpaceX argues that it has a "significant competitive advantage" in launch services rooted in reliability and reusability, and public-market capital looks to be repricing the sector around that benchmark.On Virgin Galactic, retail traders are openly debating whether the stock can serve as a "sympathy play" for the SpaceX listing, with notable ticker confusion in the mix. A WallStreetBets post titled "The thesis is still not dead" drew 125 upvotes and 58 comments, capturing the split between short-squeeze hopefuls and pump-and-dump skeptics.Act now: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and AST SpaceMobile didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today.Rocket Lab is a different story. The stock has been buoyed by inclusion in the NASDAQ 100 index and IPO anticipation, but holders now have to weigh whether RKLB shares will attract sector inflows or face a sell-the-news rotation into the new listing.Terms and Privacy PolicyPrivacy & Cookie SettingsMore Info