SpaceX Market Cap Plunge and Anthropic-Vertex Mega Deals Shake Up IPO and M&A Markets

M&A/IPO | Mon Jul 20 2026 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) | 5 sources

SpaceX lost $1 trillion in market cap post-IPO, Anthropic approached a $1.2 trillion IPO, and Vertex announced a $10 billion acquisition.

Analysis

[SpaceX] scrubbed Starship test flight and saw stock plunge ^[4][5]

• Automated launch abort due to engine ignition failure
• Fell below $135 IPO offering price
• Approximately 23% plunge after Nasdaq-100 inclusion

[SpaceX] lost massive market cap following IPO ^[3]

• Down approximately 42% from post-IPO high of $225.64
• Raised record $85.7B in June IPO
• Still valued at approximately $1.7 trillion
• 90x revenue

[SpaceX] began sequential IPO lockup expiration starting in August ^[3]

• Up to 911.5 million shares eligible for sale after earnings release
• Single tranche exceeds IPO size
• Standard lockup phases out through early December

[Anthropic] pursued a $1.2 trillion IPO scheduled for October ^[2]

• Valued at $965B in May funding round
• Valued at approximately $1.2 trillion in secondary market
• Maker of Claude LLM

[Amazon] emerged as biggest beneficiary of Anthropic IPO ^[2]

• Holds 15-20% stake through approximately $13B investment
• Stake valued at $180B-$240B at $1.2 trillion valuation
• Received $100B+ commitment from Anthropic over 10 years

[Vertex Pharmaceuticals] acquired Crinetics Pharmaceuticals for $10 billion in cash ^[1]

• Secured endocrine disease treatment pipeline
• Acquired acromegaly treatment Palsonify
• Combined peak sales potential estimated at approximately $5B

Sources

• [1] Vertex Pharmaceuticals Just Made a $10 Billion Acquisition Worth Watching - The Motley Fool
• [2] Anthropic's Potential $1.2 Trillion IPO Could Make This Stock a Major Beneficiary - The Motley Fool
• [3] SpaceX's IPO Lockup Starts Expiring in August. Here's Why the Next Wave of Sellers Could Be the Real Test. - The Motley Fool
• [4] SpaceX stock has cratered nearly 23% since the company joined the Nasdaq-100 - CNBC World Markets
• [5] SpaceX aborts Starship test flight, sending stock lower - CNBC World Markets