The SpaceX share is trading slightly below its market debut price

NEW DELHI: Retail investors turned net sellers of SpaceX shares on August 7, marking the first such instance since the company’s blockbuster public debut in June, according to Vanda Research.Individual investors sold a net $4.5 million worth of SpaceX shares on the day, reported Reuters. The shift came after a period of strong retail buying, including a major dip-buying spree following a 13.6 per cent fall in the stock on August 5.“A shift from persistent net buying to selling is rarely about one catalyst, it is usually a mix of profit-taking, position fatigue and investors reassessing the risk-reward,” said Sam North, market analyst at eToro.“Friday is particularly interesting because retail turned net sellers while the shares were rebounding strongly and trading back around the IPO price. That looks more like investors using strength to take some money off the table than panic selling,” North said, as quoted by Reuters.SpaceX shares have struggled after an early post-IPO rally. The stock had climbed as much as 67 per cent above its $135 IPO price in June before giving up those gains and falling more than 22 per cent below the debut price in August. Shares were last up 1.4 per cent at $134.95 in early trading on Monday, after gaining nearly 23 per cent last week.Despite the recent recovery, the stock has closed below its $135 IPO price every day since July 16.Retail investors have played a significant role in SpaceX’s public-market debut, with at least 30% of the shares offered at launch reserved for retail buyers. Jai Malhi, senior equities strategist at Vanda, estimated that retail traders paid an average of $147 for SpaceX shares since the IPO, suggesting that “the selling may have been a function of cutting losses at an opportune time.”Retail interest in the stock remains high. SpaceX was the second-most mentioned ticker on Reddit forum r/WallStreetBets over the past week, according to sentiment aggregator SwaggyStocks.The latest shift also comes as the number of SpaceX shares available for public trading more than doubled after the expiry of the first of several lock-up restrictions last week.