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

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

Virgin Galactic Price Performance

SPCE opened at $7.35 on Wednesday. Virgin Galactic has a fifty-two week low of $5.26 and a fifty-two week high of $54.60. The company has a quick ratio of 4.71, a current ratio of 4.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $151.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.29 and a beta of 1.71. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $6.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.06.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SPCE. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Virgin Galactic in the second quarter valued at approximately $492,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Virgin Galactic in the second quarter valued at approximately $98,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Virgin Galactic in the second quarter valued at approximately $240,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Virgin Galactic in the second quarter valued at approximately $145,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Virgin Galactic in the first quarter valued at approximately $268,000. Institutional investors own 46.62% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Virgin Galactic from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Virgin Galactic from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of 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 research 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.50.

Virgin Galactic Company Profile

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.