Virgin Galactic shares climb premarket after two-day slide

By James Rogers

Virgin Galactic shares are down five of the last six days

Shares of Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. are up 3.9% in premarket trades Thursday, after sliding over the last two days.

The stock is down five of the last six days and ended Tuesday's session down 6.8%, registering its biggest daily percentage decline since Jan. 16, when it fell 7.6%. Last week the space-tourism company completed the penultimate mission of its Unity spacecraft before it halts commercial operations to develop its new Delta-class spacecraft.

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The Galactic 06 mission was Virgin Galactic's (SPCE) 11th mission, carrying four private astronauts into space. The flight marked the first time that all four seats aboard Unity were occupied by private astronauts.

Virgin Galactic plans to launch its Galactic 07 flight during the early part of the second quarter, according to CEO Michael Colglazier, who spoke during the conference call to discuss the company's 2023 third-quarter results.

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The Delta spacecraft will increase Virgin Galactic's monthly revenue per flight from the current maximum of $2.4 million to a potential $28.8 million, the company said in November.

Virgin Galactic shares are down 71.9% in the last 52 weeks, compared with the S&P 500 index's SPX gain of 15.9%.

-James Rogers

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02-01-24 0809ET

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