Investors Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE)

Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPCE) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Traders acquired 56,872 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 412% compared to the average daily volume of 11,101 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SPCE. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Virgin Galactic from $41.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Virgin Galactic from $4.00 to $3.25 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.85.

Institutional Trading of Virgin Galactic

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Virgin Galactic by 97.2% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 7,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 3,916 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in Virgin Galactic during the third quarter worth about $49,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Virgin Galactic during the 3rd quarter worth about $70,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Virgin Galactic in the 4th quarter valued at about $71,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Virgin Galactic in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $80,000. Institutional investors own 46.62% of the company’s stock.

Virgin Galactic Trading Down 2.2 %

SPCE opened at $4.27 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.77. Virgin Galactic has a fifty-two week low of $2.85 and a fifty-two week high of $30.40. The company has a market cap of $151.53 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.25 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 4.52 and a quick ratio of 4.52.

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.