Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE) Trading Down 0.6% – Here’s What Happened

Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPCE) was down 0.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $2.60 and last traded at $2.6350. Approximately 9,759,898 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 31,100,342 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.65.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on SPCE shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Virgin Galactic to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Virgin Galactic from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Virgin Galactic from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on Virgin Galactic from $2.50 to $3.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $3.43.

Virgin Galactic Stock Down 0.6%

The business’s 50 day moving average is $3.39 and its 200 day moving average is $3.00. The company has a market capitalization of $265.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.61 and a beta of 2.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported ($0.81) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.86) by $0.05. The company had revenue of $0.23 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.20 million. Virgin Galactic had a negative net margin of 19,781.30% and a negative return on equity of 103.89%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. will post -2.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Virgin Galactic

In related news, Director Diana S. Strandberg acquired 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $2.49 per share, with a total value of $49,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 70,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $176,615.70. This represents a 39.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virgin Galactic

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vista Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Virgin Galactic during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Focus Financial Network Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Virgin Galactic during the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,880,000. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Virgin Galactic in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Virgin Galactic by 287.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 187,432 shares of the company’s stock valued at $455,000 after buying an additional 139,107 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Virgin Galactic by 1,077.1% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 21,094 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 19,302 shares during the period. 46.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Virgin Galactic

Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc (NYSE: SPCE) is a commercial spaceflight company developing and operating spacecraft for private individuals and research customers. The firm’s primary business is suborbital human spaceflight, offering passengers a brief trip to the edge of space aboard its reusable spaceplane. In parallel, the company is building out infrastructure and support services for suborbital payload deployments and microgravity research missions.

The core flight system consists of a carrier aircraft, WhiteKnightTwo, which lifts the spaceplane SpaceShipTwo to high altitude before release.