With summer holidays in full swing, most of us know the pull of the beachside ice cream van.

The sun's out, a queue is forming, and everyone seems to be ordering the same thing. Before long you're handing over a small fortune (I recently paid £6.50 a head for the kids' ice creams) for a soft-serve that isn't a patch on the proper gelato just down the road.

Markets can stimulate the same fear of missing out.

A client asked us recently: “Is now a good time to buy SpaceX?”

The excitement around the company's stock market debut, or IPO - its first sale of shares to the public - was understandable. SpaceX sits at the centre of some of the world's most ambitious projects, from rockets to satellites to artificial intelligence. Investors rushed to join in, pushing the shares sharply higher once they started trading.

Since then, though, the shares have come back down to Earth and now sit below their listing price. Even strong revenue growth in its first results as a public company - $7.81 billion for the quarter - wasn't enough to change the mood. The market instead focused on the sheer scale of investment needed to fund those ambitions: a net loss of $541 million, alongside capital expenditure of $18.4billion.

A falling share price can make a company look more tempting. But a lower price doesn't automatically mean good value.

Our chart this week points to another factor worth knowing. Only a small slice of SpaceX shares was actually available to trade when the company listed. Over the next year, progressively more stock is due to become eligible for sale - culminating in a particularly large release when Elon Musk's 46.1% stake becomes eligible.

That doesn't mean all of it will be sold. But it creates what's known as a share overhang - the possibility that a lot more supply could hit the market. Unless buyer demand keeps pace, that extra supply can weigh on the price.

Early investors in a heavily hyped IPO can end up looking a bit like the first people at the ice cream van - competing for a limited supply and paying a premium because everyone wants one at once. If a much bigger delivery is due later, joining the queue straight away may not be the smart move.

SpaceX may well turn out to be a brilliant business. But a compelling company, an exciting story and a good investment aren't automatically the same thing - especially when the price already assumes a lot of that future success.

Key takeaway

Don't let excitement about one company dictate a portfolio decision. Sometimes it pays to skip the queue, resist the fear of missing out, and let the market offer a better price. A lower share price isn't always a bargain - particularly when a lot more shares are waiting to come to market.

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This article is provided for general information purposes only and should not be construed as personal financial advice to invest in any fund or product. These are the investment manager’s views at the time of writing and should not be construed as investment advice. The opinions expressed are correct at time of writing and may be subject to change. Capital is at risk. The value and income from investments can go down as well as up and are not guaranteed. An investor may get back significantly less than they invest. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of current or future performance and should not be the sole factor considered when selecting funds.