Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Virgin Galactic Call Options (NYSE:SPCE)

Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPCE) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors bought 61,289 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 233% compared to the average volume of 18,430 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Virgin Galactic Trading Up 4.5%

NYSE:SPCE opened at $3.27 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $188.32 million, a PE ratio of -0.36 and a beta of 2.13. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $3.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 3.38 and a quick ratio of 3.38. Virgin Galactic has a fifty-two week low of $2.18 and a fifty-two week high of $8.19.

Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE) last released its 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. The firm had revenue of $0.41 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.45 million. Virgin Galactic had a negative return on equity of 98.94% and a negative net margin of 17,828.03%. Sell-side analysts expect that Virgin Galactic will post -16.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Virgin Galactic in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Virgin Galactic during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Virgin Galactic during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Virgin Galactic during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new stake in shares of Virgin Galactic during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.62% of the company’s stock.

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.