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

Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPCE) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 29,324 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 59% compared to the typical daily volume of 18,414 put options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virgin Galactic

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SPCE. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Virgin Galactic by 25.1% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 18,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 3,647 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Virgin Galactic by 44.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 19,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 6,143 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Virgin Galactic by 76.6% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 16,773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 7,274 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Virgin Galactic by 21.9% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 40,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 7,282 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Virgin Galactic by 50.8% during the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 23,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 7,838 shares in the last quarter. 46.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SPCE. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Virgin Galactic in a report on Monday, June 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $3.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised Virgin Galactic from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $4.75.

Virgin Galactic Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SPCE opened at $4.03 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $231.80 million, a P/E ratio of -0.45 and a beta of 2.27. The business has a 50-day moving average of $3.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3.24. Virgin Galactic has a fifty-two week low of $2.18 and a fifty-two week high of $8.19. 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 (NYSE:SPCE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported ($1.47) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.12) by $0.65. Virgin Galactic had a negative return on equity of 98.94% and a negative net margin of 17,828.03%.The firm had revenue of $0.41 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.45 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Virgin Galactic will post -16.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.