Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPCE) shares gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $4.53, but opened at $4.80. Virgin Galactic shares last traded at $5.1850, with a volume of 56,828,998 shares changing hands.

Trending Headlines about Virgin Galactic

Here are the key news stories impacting Virgin Galactic this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Virgin Galactic said VSS Unity has returned to the skies for glide flights ahead of the company’s next-generation spaceship flight-test program, reinforcing progress toward restarting operations. VSS Unity Returns to the Skies In Preparation For New Spaceship Flight Test Program
• Positive Sentiment: Investor optimism improved after reports that Virgin Galactic’s proposed settlement of shareholder derivative actions received preliminary court approval, reducing an overhang tied to litigation risk. Virgin Galactic Announces Notice of Settlement of Derivative Actions
• Positive Sentiment: SpaceX’s IPO filing has increased attention on space stocks generally, and some investors are viewing Virgin Galactic as a smaller public pure-play on space tourism that could benefit from rising sector enthusiasm. What SpaceX IPO really means for Virgin Galactic stock
• Positive Sentiment: Retail traders also cheered a reported Blue Origin test explosion as a reminder of Virgin Galactic’s “only space tourism” angle, which may be helping momentum in the shares. SPCE Stock Jumps 12% Pre-Market Today: Retail Pins Hope On The ‘Only Space Tourism’ Bet After Blue Origin Test Explosion
• Neutral Sentiment: Virgin Galactic is also drawing attention for a planned 2027 research mission studying menstruation in microgravity, which adds visibility but is not likely to move the stock much on its own. Virgin Galactic mission to study menstruation in microgravity
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst-style momentum commentary from Zacks may be supporting trader interest, but it does not appear to be tied to a major new fundamental development. Are You Looking for a Top Momentum Pick? Why Virgin Galactic (SPCE) is a Great Choice

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Virgin Galactic from $8.00 to $5.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Virgin Galactic from $2.50 to $3.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen raised Virgin Galactic from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Virgin Galactic from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $3.33.

Virgin Galactic Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $623.31 million, a PE ratio of -1.42 and a beta of 2.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $2.84 and a 200 day moving average of $3.01.

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

Insider Transactions at Virgin Galactic

In other Virgin Galactic news, Director Diana S. Strandberg bought 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was bought at an average price of $2.49 per share, with a total value of $49,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 70,930 shares in the company, valued at $176,615.70. The trade was a 39.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virgin Galactic

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPCE. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Virgin Galactic by 26.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,342,026 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,040,000 after acquiring an additional 496,373 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Virgin Galactic by 149.4% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 573,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,840,000 after acquiring an additional 343,444 shares during the last quarter. 683 Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Virgin Galactic during the fourth quarter worth $899,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Virgin Galactic by 118.9% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 479,789 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,540,000 after acquiring an additional 260,594 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in Virgin Galactic by 37,003.2% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 176,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $566,000 after acquiring an additional 175,765 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.62% of the company’s stock.

Virgin Galactic Company Profile

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.