Virgin Galactic Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:SPCE)

Key Points

• Investors bought 24,152 call options in Virgin Galactic on Monday, a roughly 63% increase versus typical call volume, signaling unusually high bullish options activity.
• Analysts are mixed but cautious: the consensus rating is "Reduce" with a $4.20 average target, and firms range from Buy to Sell (notably Morgan Stanley's "underweight" $2.30 target).
• Several institutional investors increased stakes in the fourth quarter (Invesco, Millennium, Quadrature), institutions now own 46.62% of the stock; shares traded at $2.61 with a $190.5M market cap and a 52-week range of $2.18–$6.64.

Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPCE - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors purchased 24,152 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 63% compared to the typical volume of 14,828 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on SPCE shares. Wolfe Research restated a "peer perform" rating on shares of Virgin Galactic in a report on Friday, November 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Virgin Galactic in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Susquehanna set a $3.50 price target on shares of Virgin Galactic in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $2.30 target price on shares of Virgin Galactic and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Virgin Galactic has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $4.20.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virgin Galactic

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Virgin Galactic during the fourth quarter worth approximately $129,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Virgin Galactic by 52.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 406,294 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,304,000 after purchasing an additional 140,537 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in Virgin Galactic by 130.5% in the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 139,702 shares of the company's stock worth $448,000 after buying an additional 79,088 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Virgin Galactic by 118.9% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 479,789 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,540,000 after buying an additional 260,594 shares during the period. Finally, 683 Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Virgin Galactic in the fourth quarter worth $899,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.62% of the company's stock.

Virgin Galactic Price Performance

Shares of SPCE traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $2.61. 2,187,426 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,630,191. Virgin Galactic has a 52 week low of $2.18 and a 52 week high of $6.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 2.87 and a current ratio of 2.87. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $2.93 and a 200-day moving average of $3.36. The stock has a market cap of $190.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.35 and a beta of 2.22.

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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