Key Highlights

● SpaceX closed at $162.57 on Friday, up $2.00, finishing comfortably above its $150 IPO price after trading higher premarket.

● SpaceX reportedly agreed to buy Grain Management's nationwide 800 MHz low-band spectrum for about $8 billion in cash.

● Barclays analyst Anthony Valentini initiated coverage at Overweight with a $254 price target, well above Friday's close.

● T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon lost about $39 billion in combined market value, while tower owners surged.

SpaceX (NASDAQ:SPCX) closed at $162.57 on Friday, up $2.00, after a day that put the newly public company at the center of Wall Street's attention. The stock had traded considerably higher before the opening bell, then gave back part of that gain during the regular session. Even so, it finished comfortably above its $150 IPO price.

The first catalyst was a deal. SpaceX agreed to buy Grain Management's nationwide 800 MHz low-band spectrum, up to 14 MHz of paired airwaves, for about $8 billion in cash, according to a media report. The second was Barclays (NYSE:BCS), whose analyst Anthony Valentini initiated coverage at Overweight with a price target of $254. Some reports described the rating as Buy. Barclays also launched coverage of other defense and aerospace names the same day, including Palantir (NASDAQ:PLTR), Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) and Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT).

Building a mobile carrier

SpaceX said the purchase "will pave the way for Starlink Mobile to become a major mobile carrier in the US." Elon Musk called it a "Very big deal" in a post on X on Thursday. Low-band spectrum travels long distances and penetrates buildings well, which makes it valuable for wide-area mobile coverage. Grain Management is a private Investment firm focused on spectrum and communications infrastructure.

A market report also noted that the Federal Communications Commission approved an expansion of the Starlink satellite network, giving SpaceX another regulatory win in the same news cycle. The spectrum purchase itself still needs FCC approval.

The carriers took the hit

The market treated the deal as a direct threat to incumbent wireless carriers. T-Mobile (NASDAQ:TMUS), AT&T (NYSE:T) and Verizon (NYSE:VZ) tumbled, losing about $39 billion in combined market value, according to market data. T-Mobile, currently SpaceX's partner for satellite coverage in dead zones, fell the hardest.

"The carriers' best argument just got weaker," said Kutgun Maral, an analyst at Evercore ISI. "This strategic shift places SpaceX in a stronger negotiating position," he added. Scotiabank (NYSE:BNS) cut its price targets on all three carriers.

Tower owners went the other way. Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI), American Tower (NYSE:AMT) and SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) surged, with Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) analysts calling the deal "incrementally constructive" for towers, on the view that even a satellite-led network would need equipment on the ground.

A heavily traded name

SpaceX was among the most-discussed tickers among retail traders on trading platforms on Friday, alongside AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile. For a company that only recently listed, Barclays' $254 target sets a high bar that is well above Friday's close.

The broader market rose. The Nasdaq Composite gained 172.83 points to 27,366.17, the S&P 500 added 46.18 points to 7,811.54, just below Tuesday's record close, and the Dow climbed 423.31 points to 51,654.95. Gainers outnumbered losers on the Nasdaq by 2,756 to 1,997.

The rate backdrop remains tight. The 10-year Treasury Yield held near a 24-year high, and the Fed, which raised rates in September for the first time since 2023, has signaled further hikes. That matters for capital-intensive businesses, and building a mobile network is among the most capital-intensive projects in telecoms.

The FCC Review of the Grain Spectrum Purchase Is the Next Step for SpaceX's Mobile Plans

Monday, October 12 is Columbus Day, with stocks open and the Bond Market closed. September consumer prices are due Wednesday, October 14, bank Earnings run from October 13 to 16 and the Fed meets on October 27 and 28. The FCC's review of the Grain spectrum purchase is the key next step for SpaceX's mobile plans. Verizon's third-quarter call on October 26 may give a detailed carrier response.