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

Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPCE) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Traders acquired 43,851 call options on the company. Thisisanincreaseofapproximately142% compared to the average daily volume of 18,113 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virgin Galactic

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Virgin Galactic by 134.7% during the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,956,199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,927,000 after buying an additional 1,122,535 shares during the last quarter. Wealthquest Corp bought a new stake in shares of Virgin Galactic in the first quarter worth $1,340,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Virgin Galactic by 62.0% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 946,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,568,000 after acquiring an additional 362,421 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Virgin Galactic during the 4th quarter valued at $715,000. Finally, Caption Management LLC boosted its stake in Virgin Galactic by 112.1% during the 1st quarter. Caption Management LLC now owns 11,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 107,315 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.62% of the company’s stock.

Virgin Galactic Stock Up 5.1%

Shares of NYSE:SPCE opened at $3.31 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $190.62 million, a P/E ratio of -0.37 and a beta of 2.01. Virgin Galactic has a 1 year low of $2.18 and a 1 year high of $8.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 3.38 and a current ratio of 3.38.

Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported ($1.47) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.12) by $0.65. Virgin Galactic had a negative net margin of 17,828.03% and a negative return on equity of 98.94%. The firm had revenue of $0.41 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.45 million. Equities analysts forecast that Virgin Galactic will post -16.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Virgin Galactic in a research report on Monday, June 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $3.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Virgin Galactic from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Virgin Galactic from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $4.81.

Virgin Galactic Company Profile

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.