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

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SPCE. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Virgin Galactic by 1,021.3% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 338,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $500,000 after acquiring an additional 307,901 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LP raised its stake in shares of Virgin Galactic by 52.9% during the 1st quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 562,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $832,000 after buying an additional 194,675 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Virgin Galactic in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $268,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Virgin Galactic by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,633,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,258,000 after buying an additional 158,954 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Virgin Galactic during the first quarter worth $195,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.62% of the company’s stock.

Virgin Galactic Stock Performance

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

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

About Virgin Galactic

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.