Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE) to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

SPCE has been the topic of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Virgin Galactic from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Virgin Galactic from $2.50 to $3.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Virgin Galactic from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $3.33.

Virgin Galactic Stock Up 2.2%

Virgin Galactic stock opened at $4.69 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $472.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.08 and a beta of 2.71. Virgin Galactic has a fifty-two week low of $2.13 and a fifty-two week high of $8.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $3.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.08.

Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported ($0.81) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.86) by $0.05. The business had revenue of $0.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.20 million. Virgin Galactic had a negative return on equity of 103.89% and a negative net margin of 19,781.30%. Analysts predict that Virgin Galactic will post -2.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Virgin Galactic

In other news, Director Diana S. Strandberg acquired 20,000 shares of Virgin Galactic stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $2.49 per share, with a total value of $49,800.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 70,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $176,615.70. This trade represents a 39.27% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virgin Galactic

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Virgin Galactic in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. SummitTX Capital L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Virgin Galactic in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Themes Management Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Virgin Galactic in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Pitcairn Co. acquired a new position in shares of Virgin Galactic in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Virgin Galactic in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. 46.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.