Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPCE) Given Average Rating of "Reduce" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Brokerages give Virgin Galactic an average recommendation of "Reduce" across six firms (2 sell, 3 hold, 1 buy), with an average 12‑month price target of $3.33.
• Shares opened at $2.53 (50‑day SMA $2.62, 200‑day SMA $3.15), the company has a market cap of about $185M, a negative PE and beta of 2.20, and analysts forecast roughly -3.6 EPS for the fiscal year.
• Q1 results showed EPS of -$0.98 beating estimates (-$1.12) but revenue of $0.31M missed expectations and the firm reported extremely negative net margin and return on equity, underlining ongoing losses.

Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPCE - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Reduce" from the six brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $3.3250.

Several equities analysts have commented on SPCE shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Virgin Galactic from $8.00 to $5.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Virgin Galactic from $2.50 to $3.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered Virgin Galactic from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Virgin Galactic in a research note on Monday, April 20th.

Virgin Galactic Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of SPCE opened at $2.53 on Tuesday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $2.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a current ratio of 1.78. Virgin Galactic has a 1 year low of $2.13 and a 1 year high of $6.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $184.65 million, a PE ratio of -0.43 and a beta of 2.20.

Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 30th. The company reported ($0.98) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.12) by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $0.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $0.41 million. Virgin Galactic had a negative net margin of 18,063.93% and a negative return on equity of 106.67%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($2.53) earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Virgin Galactic will post -3.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virgin Galactic

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Virgin Galactic during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Virgin Galactic during the 4th quarter worth approximately $129,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Virgin Galactic by 52.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 406,294 shares of the company's stock worth $1,304,000 after acquiring an additional 140,537 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd increased its position in shares of Virgin Galactic by 130.5% in the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 139,702 shares of the company's stock valued at $448,000 after purchasing an additional 79,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Virgin Galactic by 118.9% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 479,789 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,540,000 after purchasing an additional 260,594 shares in the last quarter. 46.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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