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

Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPCE) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 17,720 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 87% compared to the typical daily volume of 9,485 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SPCE has been the topic of several research reports. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Virgin Galactic from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Virgin Galactic from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Virgin Galactic from $35.00 to $5.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virgin Galactic

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SPCE. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Virgin Galactic in the 1st quarter worth about $195,000. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Virgin Galactic by 444.5% during the 1st quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC now owns 151,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 124,084 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Virgin Galactic by 1,021.3% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 338,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $500,000 after buying an additional 307,901 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in Virgin Galactic by 9.1% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 749,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,110,000 after buying an additional 62,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Virgin Galactic during the first quarter worth approximately $151,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.62% of the company’s stock.

Virgin Galactic Trading Up 3.3 %

SPCE stock traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $7.51. The stock had a trading volume of 628,822 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,314,130. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $6.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 4.71 and a quick ratio of 4.71. The firm has a market cap of $154.47 million, a PE ratio of -0.29 and a beta of 1.71. Virgin Galactic has a 12-month low of $5.26 and a 12-month high of $54.60.

Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported ($4.36) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($5.40) by $1.04. Virgin Galactic had a negative return on equity of 83.64% and a negative net margin of 3,764.43%. The company had revenue of $4.22 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($9.20) EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Virgin Galactic will post -18.82 earnings per share 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.