Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPCE) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Virgin Galactic has a consensus analyst rating of "Hold" from five covering analysts, with an average 12-month price target of about $3.43.
• The stock fell 2.1% to $2.56 on Friday and remains highly volatile, with a beta of 2.74 and a market cap of roughly $258 million.
• The company recently reported a smaller-than-expected loss for the quarter, but fundamentals remain weak, and analysts expect -$2.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPCE - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the five analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $3.4333.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on SPCE shares. Wall Street Zen raised Virgin Galactic from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings lowered Virgin Galactic from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Virgin Galactic to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on Virgin Galactic from $2.50 to $3.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th.

Virgin Galactic Trading Down 2.1%

SPCE traded down $0.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $2.56. The company had a trading volume of 8,366,092 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,351,476. The stock has a market cap of $258.25 million, a P/E ratio of -0.59 and a beta of 2.74. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.00. Virgin Galactic has a 52 week low of $2.13 and a 52 week high of $8.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Virgin Galactic had a negative net margin of 19,781.30% and a negative return on equity of 103.89%. The business had revenue of $0.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $0.20 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Virgin Galactic will post -2.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Diana S. Strandberg bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $2.49 per share, with a total value of $49,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 70,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at $176,615.70. This trade represents a 39.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virgin Galactic

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Virgin Galactic by 34.1% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 23,002 shares of the company's stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 5,844 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Virgin Galactic by 44.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 19,845 shares of the company's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 6,143 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Virgin Galactic by 76.6% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Virgin Galactic by 21.9% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 40,487 shares of the company's stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 7,282 shares in the last quarter. 46.62% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

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