Virgin Galactic Stock: Shares Tank On Tail Of Richard Branson’s Successful Space Flight

Shares of Virgin Galactic (SPCE) plunged over 13% Monday after the company announced it was selling up to $500 million in common stock following a successful spaceflight with founder Richard Branson.

The space company filed the stock sale offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission early Monday, sending its share price sliding about 10% with the news, CNBC noted.

Shares of Virgin Galactic were trading at $52.66 in premarket trading on Monday, up $3.46, or 7.03%. Trading of Virgin Galactic shares was briefly paused on Monday morning as a result of the volatility.

On Sunday, Virgin Galactic launched a full crew from New Mexico to the edge of space, 53.2 miles above sea level. The company plans to begin selling seats onboard its spacecraft VSS Unity for the one-hour flight to space in 2022.

Branson said there have been over 600 tickets sold for upcoming flights onboard the Virgin Galactic spacecraft, with the price of a seat on the VSS Unity reaching about $250,000.

“We view Branson’s achievement as a massive marketing coup for Virgin Galactic that will be impossible for the public to ignore,” Canaccord Genuity equity analyst Ken Herbert told clients in a research note. Canaccord Genuity reiterated a "buy" rating on Virgin Galactic at a price target of $35.

Virgin Galactic had seen its price of shares double in 2021 in anticipation of the commercial space flights. On May 11, shares of Virgin Galactic were trading at $14.27.

Virgin Galactic is also offering two free seats as part of a giveaway promotion with fundraising company Omaze on “one of the first commercial Virgin Galactic spaceflights” slated for early next year.

Branson, 70, is the first billionaire to travel into space, beating out Blue Origin's founder Jeff Bezos and Space X founder Elon Musk. Bezos will fly to space on July 20 onboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard.

Shares of Virgin Galactic were trading at $42.43 as of 12:07 p.m. ET on Monday, down $6.77, or 13.76%.