Stock Market Today, Oct. 23: SpaceX Achieves Rare Double Upgrade to Buy on AI Growth

Source The Motley Fool

Space Exploration Technologies (NASDAQ:SPCX), better known as SpaceX, a launch services, satellite broadband, and space infrastructure provider, closed at $147.49, up 1.89%. Premarket analyst upgrades and regular-session coverage of tower-lease talks helped keep investors focused on growth and mobile ambitions.

Trading volume reached 109.4 million shares, coming in nearly 1% above its three-month average of 99.4 million shares. Space Exploration Technologies IPO'd in 2026 and has fallen 8% since going public.

How the markets moved today

The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX:^GSPC) fell 0.52% to 7,623, while the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX:^IXIC) slipped 0.21% to 25,955. In aerospace, defense, and satellite communications, Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) closed at $52.60, up 2.69%, and AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) finished at $39.79, up 2.63%, as space-linked peers drew steady attention.

What this means for investors

On Friday, Oct. 23, SpaceX captured a rare double upgrade from Wall Street. Phillip Securities analyst Glenn Thum upgraded shares from Sell to Buy, bypassing Hold entirely. He also tripled the price target from $75 to $250 per share, implying an impressive upside potential of over 70% from its recent trading levels.

The dramatic reversal from bear to bull was driven by SpaceX's blowout third-quarter earnings report, which highlighted the spectacular growth of the company's artificial intelligence division, called Super Intelligence (SI).

SpaceX's SI business hit sales of $7.6 billion in Q3, up from $813 million last year, helping to grow total revenue 161% year over year to $14.6 billion. CEO Elon Musk stated the company's annual recurring revenue could reach a range between $500 billion and $1 trillion by the end of 2027. SI's success contributed to the bullish sentiment from Phillip Securities.

SI isn't the only factor galvanizing shares. SpaceX is reportedly negotiating tower leases as it seeks at least 80,000 U.S. cell sites in a bid to broaden its wireless mobile addressable market. The news of intensifying carrier competition caused telecom stocks to drop.

Should you buy stock in Space Exploration Technologies right now?

Before you buy stock in Space Exploration Technologies, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Space Exploration Technologies wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $361,596!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,303,935!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 910% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 211% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of October 23, 2026.

Robert Izquierdo has positions in Rocket Lab and Space Exploration Technologies. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends AST SpaceMobile and Rocket Lab. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Disclaimer: For information purposes only. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
placeholder
Dollar presses 102 as the 10-year yield sits at 5.14% — and October hike odds are only 17%The dollar index closed at 101.99 (+0.20%) on Monday after briefly topping 102.07, while the 10-year Treasury yield rose to 5.14% and the 2-year hit 4.774% — yet futures price only about a 17% chance of a hike at the October 27-28 FOMC, versus roughly 90% for December. The driver is a global bond selloff, not a Fed repricing: France's 10-year OAT jumped to 4.84% ~ 4.94% and the OAT-Bund spread widened to 140 ~ 146bp. Here are the levels, the cross-asset read-through and what to watch.
Author  Irene Q.
Oct 20, Tue
The dollar index closed at 101.99 (+0.20%) on Monday after briefly topping 102.07, while the 10-year Treasury yield rose to 5.14% and the 2-year hit 4.774% — yet futures price only about a 17% chance of a hike at the October 27-28 FOMC, versus roughly 90% for December. The driver is a global bond selloff, not a Fed repricing: France's 10-year OAT jumped to 4.84% ~ 4.94% and the OAT-Bund spread widened to 140 ~ 146bp. Here are the levels, the cross-asset read-through and what to watch.
placeholder
Meta's AI bill just hit $145 billion — and it issued a new share class to pay for itMeta reported record third-quarter revenue of $64.60 billion, up 26% from a year earlier, and raised full-year 2026 capital expenditure guidance to $135-145 billion from $130-145 billion. To fund that build-out without touching Mark Zuckerberg's voting control, the company announced a 2-for-1 stock split that hands every Class A holder a new non-voting Class C share. Here are the four lines that matter, the peer group that is being re-rated alongside it, and the bull and bear cases.
Author  Irene Q.
Oct 22, Thu
Meta reported record third-quarter revenue of $64.60 billion, up 26% from a year earlier, and raised full-year 2026 capital expenditure guidance to $135-145 billion from $130-145 billion. To fund that build-out without touching Mark Zuckerberg's voting control, the company announced a 2-for-1 stock split that hands every Class A holder a new non-voting Class C share. Here are the four lines that matter, the peer group that is being re-rated alongside it, and the bull and bear cases.
placeholder
The Fed will sit still on October 28 — but 100 of 100 economists now expect a December hikeA Reuters poll run October 16-20 found 94 of 100 economists expecting the Fed to hold at 3.75-4.00% on October 28 — and all 100 expecting a hike in December, against less than half a month earlier. The market is close to the same price, with CME FedWatch at roughly 17% for October and 82.8% for December. With the Fed in blackout since October 17, here are the five dates that decide the rest of the year, what each one is priced for, and the two directions each can take.
Author  Irene Q.
Oct 22, Thu
A Reuters poll run October 16-20 found 94 of 100 economists expecting the Fed to hold at 3.75-4.00% on October 28 — and all 100 expecting a hike in December, against less than half a month earlier. The market is close to the same price, with CME FedWatch at roughly 17% for October and 82.8% for December. With the Fed in blackout since October 17, here are the five dates that decide the rest of the year, what each one is priced for, and the two directions each can take.
placeholder
Gold Price Analysis Today | Forex Gold Analysis | XAU/USD Analysis - October 23, 2026Get the latest gold price analysis, forex gold insights, and XAU/USD analysis for October 23, 2026. Read on for the details.
Author  Mitrade
Yesterday 02: 56
Get the latest gold price analysis, forex gold insights, and XAU/USD analysis for October 23, 2026. Read on for the details.
placeholder
Nasdaq closes at 26,008.86 — 8.9 points above 26,000, and the credit market never blinkedThe Nasdaq Composite fell 2.60% to 26,008.86 on October 22, its worst session since June, as Meta sank 6.98% on 2026 capex guidance of $135–145 billion. But the equal-weight S&P 500 rose 0.73%, high-yield credit was flat and 10-year yields fell 20 basis points. This was an AI de-rating, not a risk-off event — here is the transmission chain, the 29,000 / 28,200 levels and what would prove it wrong.
Author  Irene Q.
23 hours ago
The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.60% to 26,008.86 on October 22, its worst session since June, as Meta sank 6.98% on 2026 capex guidance of $135–145 billion. But the equal-weight S&P 500 rose 0.73%, high-yield credit was flat and 10-year yields fell 20 basis points. This was an AI de-rating, not a risk-off event — here is the transmission chain, the 29,000 / 28,200 levels and what would prove it wrong.
goTop
quote