Virgin Galactic SPCE shares decline after postponement of next spaceflight test

The Virgo Galaxy Stocks tumbled after the company on Friday postponed its next spaceflight test, which had been scheduled to take place this weekend.

“We have been progressing through our pre-flight preparations, and during that process, we decided to allow more time for technical checks. We are working on identifying the opportunity for the next flight,” the company said in a statement.

Virgin Galactic’s stock has risen more than 450% since the company went public in October 2019, with its market valuation now reaching nearly $ 14 billion – despite the company’s lack of significant revenue so far and steady quarterly losses. Trader investor trading has so far hinged on Virgin Galactic’s progress in completing the development program and initiating commercial travel, with updates and delays having a clear impact on the stock’s daily volatility.

On Friday, shares were down 11% in pre-market trading from their previous close of $ 59.41.

The stock jumped 13% the day before, after notice of The Federal Aviation Administration indicated that the space flight test was on its way to take off early Saturday. The company had confirmed on Thursday that it was “making good progress with our preparations for our flights,” but indicated at the time that the flight attempt was still waiting for technical readiness.

Technical inspection can be for a variety of reasons, from hardware checks to software verifications, so delays can range anywhere from days to weeks depending on the severity of the problem.

Next space flight test December’s re-attempt aborted by the company in mid-launch. Virgin Galactic spent two months analyzing the cause of the miscarriage and performing ground exams, with a test flight assigned to verify “remedial work completed.”

While only two pilots will be on board, the flight is expected to be the first of three pilots in a series as the company seeks to end development of its spacecraft system.

Earlier this week UBS reduced its rating on the stock to neutral, Citing the stock jump to start the year. “We are aware of the seemingly perfect rating,” UBS said in a customer note, although the upcoming test flights are creating an attractive “trigger chain”.

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