Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE) Shares Down 0.6% – What’s Next?

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

SPCE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Virgin Galactic from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Susquehanna upped their target price on Virgin Galactic from $2.50 to $3.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note 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, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Virgin Galactic to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $3.43.

Virgin Galactic Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $3.40 and its 200-day moving average is $3.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $258.24 million, a PE ratio of -0.59 and a beta of 2.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported ($0.81) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 19,781.30% and a negative return on equity of 103.89%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. will post -2.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Virgin Galactic

In other Virgin Galactic news, Director Diana S. Strandberg purchased 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $2.49 per share, for a total transaction of $49,800.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 70,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $176,615.70. This trade represents a 39.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virgin Galactic

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Virgin Galactic by 61.9% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 13,608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 5,205 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Virgin Galactic by 34.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 23,002 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 5,844 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Virgin Galactic by 44.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 19,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 6,143 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Virgin Galactic by 76.6% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 16,773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 7,274 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in Virgin Galactic by 21.9% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 40,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 7,282 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.62% of the company’s stock.

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.