Some investors who thought they had secured one of Wall Street's hottest trades, owning SpaceX before its blockbuster IPO, say the shares they expected to cash in on simply disappeared, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The controversy centers on special purpose vehicles (SPVs), investment funds that promise accredited investors exposure to private companies before they go public. After SpaceX's June IPO, several investors who bought into SPVs managed by Late Stage Management say they were stunned to learn the underlying SpaceX shares had allegedly been sold years earlier, leaving them without the windfall they believed they still owned.
The Journal writes that one of those investors, Virginia data engineer Ram Rupireddy, invested $17,250 in a Late Stage fund in 2020 after being told it offered exposure to SpaceX. Based on statements in his investor portal and 2025 tax documents, he believed he still owned the equivalent of 2,500 SpaceX shares when the company debuted publicly. At the IPO price, he estimated the position would have been worth more than $300,000. Instead, the firm later informed him the underlying shares had been sold in 2024, leaving him with roughly $45,450.
"The plan was to fund college education for both of my kids," Rupireddy said after filing a complaint with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He says he never received notice that his investment had been sold, and only discovered the change after temporarily losing access to Late Stage's investor portal, which later showed the position had been liquidated.
Another investor, who asked not to be identified, told The Wall Street Journal he experienced the same surprise. He said he believed he still owned pre IPO SpaceX exposure until after the company's public debut, when he was informed the underlying shares had already been sold years earlier. Like Rupireddy, he has since joined other investors seeking legal remedies, and told the newspaper an SEC attorney and an FBI special agent contacted him to discuss his experience.
According to The Wall Street Journal, at least four investors reported similar experiences, while roughly 150 Late Stage investors have joined a group chat to discuss potential legal action. One investor told the newspaper that an SEC attorney and an FBI agent contacted him about his experience. The SEC declined to comment on whether it is investigating the matter, and the FBI also declined comment.
Late Stage Management did not respond to repeated requests for comment. The firm is already facing separate legal scrutiny after three former sales executives pleaded guilty earlier this year to fraud charges involving hidden markups and fees, though prosecutors said those cases were unrelated to the disputed SpaceX shares.
The episode is also drawing fresh attention to the risks of SPVs, which often provide indirect "exposure" to private companies through multiple layers of investment vehicles rather than direct ownership of shares. As Davis Polk partner Jared Fine told the Journal, "Ultimately if you're investing, you want to make sure you own what you think you own."
Tyler Durden Fri, 08/07/2026 - 12:20Summary:
One day after Celsius Holdings crashed 18% following a dismal second-quarter earnings report, Rockstar Energy founder Russ Savage told CNBC that he has amassed a 4.7% stake, equivalent to more than 12 million shares, and wants to gut incompetent management and install himself as CEO in a bid to turn around the struggling beverage company.
Here's more from CNBC:
Savage's stake amounts to roughly 4.7% of the company and would be worth about $300 million at current stock levels.
While Savage has been quietly advising Celsius to change its cost structure and marketing strategy for over a year, he now says new leadership is needed.
"The CEO, the COO, the brand manager and the marketing manager all need to be fired," Savage told CNBC.
. . .
Savage, who was born Russell Weiner and started Rockstar with a $50,000 mortgage against his California condo, said he offered advice to Celsius over a year ago, but was largely ignored. He said Celsius has too many layers of management, with too many costs, and no real accountability.
"They need one person making the decisions, paying attention to every detail, not a group of people in a firing squad," he said.
. . .
"Once you lose shelf space, you're dead," he said. "The chains will give it to Red Bull or Monster."
Savage said he's offering to take over as CEO before the problems become too deep to fix. When building Rockstar, he said he managed every detail -- from sales and marketing to sponsorships, packaging, distribution and innovation. He said the same type of cost-conscious, driven leader is needed at Celsius.
"I'm publicly volunteering to do it," he said. "The CEO has lost credibility with the investment community."
The CNBC headline catapulted the stock 12% higher by late morning in New York. Shares have yet to recover all of yesterday's losses following the dismal earnings report. More details can be viewed below.
Latest short data from Bloomberg shows about 20% of the float is short.
Squeeze candidate?
Celsius Shares Crash As Revenue Misses EstimatesCelsius Holdings, the Florida-based beverage company with a portfolio of some of America's top-performing energy drinks, reported weaker-than-expected second-quarter results, as revenue, adjusted earnings, and profitability missed Wall Street estimates.
Second-quarter adjusted earnings fell to 36 cents per share from 47 cents a year earlier, below the 41-cent Bloomberg Consensus estimate. Revenue increased 11% to $817.9 million but missed the $872.6 million estimate, with North American sales of $790.7 million also falling short.
Profitability deteriorated despite sales growth. Gross margin narrowed to 48.1% from 51.5% as promotional activity, channel mix, and aluminum inflation weighed on results. Net income fell 45% to $55.3 million, while adjusted earnings declined to 36 cents per share from 47 cents. Adjusted EBITDA dropped 12% to $184.2 million.
2Q Earnings Snapshot:
Adjusted EPS 36c vs. 47c y/y, estimate 41c (Bloomberg Consensus)
EPS 14c vs. 33c y/y, estimate 40c
Revenue $817.9 million, +11% y/y, estimate $872.6 million
Gross margin 48.1% vs. 51.5% y/y, estimate 48.6%
Adjusted Ebitda $184.2 million, -12% y/y, estimate $198.4 million
Celsius shares plunged 16% in premarket trading.
"During the second quarter of 2026, we made meaningful progress in advancing Celsius Holdings as a scaled portfolio of leading brands. We delivered a double-digit increase in second-quarter revenue, completed the Rockstar integration, and maintained gross margin near first-quarter levels despite a challenging commodity environment," CEO John Fieldly wrote in a press release.
Celsius Holdings' portfolio, which includes CELSIUS, Alani Nu, and the U.S. and Canadian Rockstar Energy business, accounts for about 20% of U.S. ready-to-drink energy sales. PepsiCo serves as the company's primary distribution partner.
Notably, the national average price for regular 87-octane gasoline remained mostly above $4 per gallon in the quarter, a key threshold at which consumer behavior begins to shift through trade-downs and reduced discretionary purchases. Goldman Sachs analyst Bonnie Herzog previously flagged a slowdown in energy-drink demand beginning in mid-May. Read the full note here.
Tyler Durden Fri, 08/07/2026 - 12:15