It's been nearly two months since Elon Musk's Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SPCX -3.41%), commonly known as SpaceX, went public. Despite an initial surge in interest (and share price), the stock has badly underperformed the market. Shares of SpaceX stock are down more than 51% from their highs.
However, two other high-tech stocks made their market debuts around the same time as SpaceX, and they've actually fared just as badly.
Here's why SpaceX, despite being down 51%, managed to outperform recent nuclear IPO X-Energy (XE -4.34%) (down almost 55%) and is only doing a bit worse than Standard Nuclear (STDN +3.82%) (down 45.5%). Let's also look at which stock is likeliest to recover.
Image source: Getty Images.
Times are tough all over
SpaceX is outperforming most of the small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear industry.
SMR stocks had a fantastic 2025. They soared to massive valuations thanks to President Donald Trump's new nuclear-friendly policies. But new ideas -- especially those involving radioactive material -- take time to implement. Even with the Trump administration's Department of Energy (DOE) prioritizing the deployment of new reactors, most SMR companies aren't even in the prototype testing phase for their revolutionary reactor designs.
Shares of SMR companies Nano Nuclear Energy (NNE -4.62%), Oklo (OKLO -5.50%), and NuScale Power (SMR -2.09%) are down 74%, 80%, and 85%, respectively, from their early October highs. The more recent nuclear IPOs have fared much better, with X-Energy down "only" 54.7% and Standard Nuclear down "just" 45.3%.
So, are the recent IPOs better buys?
NASDAQ: SPCX
Key Data Points
The new shiny stock
It's possible that the new IPOs simply haven't had as much time to drop as the more established stocks. If we measure all these stocks' performances from SpaceX's IPO date of June 12, SpaceX actually goes from being the best performer to almost the worst.
All of these stocks are dependent on the success of an emerging industry -- routine spaceflight, SMR-based power plants, orbital AI data centers -- that will take time to develop. Success will be measured in years, not weeks, and it's definitely not a guarantee.
That makes it tough to pick a potential winner. All of these stocks seem overpriced given how speculative they are. Plus, it's not usually a good idea to buy a recent IPO until it releases at least a few quarters' worth of earnings reports to inform your thesis. Risk-averse investors should steer clear of them all.
But if I had to buy one of these new IPOs, I'd probably go with Standard Nuclear.
NYSE: STDN
Key Data Points
Its current market cap of $1.2 billion seems the least overpriced, given its proposed business model of enriching nuclear fuels for SMR companies. Management claims $245 million in (mostly unfunded) backlog and a (non-binding) deal with Oklo to provide fuel, as well as $124.9 million in cash on the balance sheet. Plus, it's been working with the DOE on various projects, including the well-funded Prometheus project.
That said, the smartest move for investors right now is probably just to wait.
