SpaceX’s Share Price Climbs Further

SpaceX shares recently sold at a price 24% higher than the last fundraising round, a securities filing by Fidelity Investments indicates, a price that would value the firm at close to $15 billion. It suggests that SpaceX shares have continued to rise in the secondary market and likely explains why Fidelity marked up its stake in the company to that level in February.

We reported in April that Fidelity had marked up its stake in SpaceX to $96.42 a share in February, which is the equivalent of about $15 billion for the whole company, although the reasons weren’t disclosed at the time. The episode seems the latest example of Fidelity using transactions in the secondary market for private tech stocks to help value its private tech investments.

Mutual fund carrying values have come under criticism from founders and venture capitalists for using subjective and fluctuating metrics such as public market comparisons, but Fidelity’s markups of SpaceX have mirrored what investors are actually paying for its stock.

Such common stock is likely being sold by employees under the company’s coordination, as SpaceX is known to sponsor employee stock sales more regularly than other large private tech companies.

The new share price disclosure was part of mutual fund regulatory filings that list valuation methods for private companies. Fidelity itself may have bought shares at the higher price: In a separate portfolio report posted online, at least one Fidelity fund disclosed a new stake of SpaceX common stock in April, although the share price of that stake was not disclosed.