Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE)

Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPCE - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors bought 24,209 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 167% compared to the typical volume of 9,061 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virgin Galactic

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SPCE. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Virgin Galactic in the 3rd quarter valued at about $80,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Virgin Galactic in the third quarter worth approximately $70,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Virgin Galactic by 21.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 508,088 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,101,000 after buying an additional 88,102 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management boosted its holdings in shares of Virgin Galactic by 40.3% during the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 35,439 shares of the company's stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 10,172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Virgin Galactic during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.62% of the company's stock.

Virgin Galactic Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE SPCE traded down $0.12 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $5.38. The company had a trading volume of 2,497,454 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,051,261. Virgin Galactic has a 12 month low of $5.06 and a 12 month high of $43.20. The company has a quick ratio of 4.52, a current ratio of 4.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market cap of $155.23 million, a P/E ratio of -0.31 and a beta of 1.72. The company's fifty day moving average price is $6.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.53.

Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($2.66) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($4.10) by $1.44. The business had revenue of $0.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.47 million. Virgin Galactic had a negative net margin of 3,975.27% and a negative return on equity of 88.09%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($5.60) EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Virgin Galactic will post -16.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Virgin Galactic from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Virgin Galactic currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $25.50.

About Virgin Galactic

Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc, an aerospace and space travel company, focuses on the development, manufacture, and operation of spaceships and related technologies. The company engages in the design and development, manufacturing, ground and flight testing, spaceflight operation, and post-flight maintenance of spaceflight systems for private individuals, researchers, and government agencies.