What's Going On With Virgin Galactic Stock?

Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc SPCE shares are in the spotlight Monday after shares soared approximately 43% Friday to close out the week. Here’s a look at what’s going on.

What To Know: Virgin Galactic shares hit new 52-week lows in April, but the company’s first-quarter earnings report from last week sparked a resurgence of investor interest which led to a strong move in the heavily-shorted stock.

Virgin Galactic beat estimates on the top and bottom lines late Thursday and also guided for slightly improved cash flows moving forward. Although total revenue was down on a year-over-year basis due to a pause in commercial spaceflights, the company provided new timelines that appeared to drive optimism around the name.

The aerospace and space travel company said it plans to open future astronaut sales in the first quarter of 2026, with private astronaut spaceflights planned for fall 2026. Virgin Galactic also noted that its first spaceflight with its new SpaceShip carrying research payloads is planned for summer 2026.

"The assets being built as we march through our pre-revenue phase are tremendous, and we expect them to open up a powerful and profitable business model that will benefit from an industry-leading cost structure, fixed-cost leverage as we scale, and an unparalleled customer experience," said Michael Colglazier, CEO of Virgin Galactic.

On a conference call following the print, Colglazier noted that the company expects its spaceflight prices to rise relative to past prices of $600,000, which may have contributed to investor optimism.

The stock was trending for most of the day as shares soared more than 90% at the peak before pulling back a bit heading into the close. The price action suggests short covering helped drive some of the move. Virgin Galactic shares are heavily shorted with high short interest of around 26%, according to Benzinga Pro.

Virgin Galactic shares are trending on various social platforms again on Monday as the stock continues to gain interest from retail traders. The stock has a market cap below $200 million. When combined with the high short interest, shares are likely to continue to see high levels of volatility.

Jefferies analyst Greg Konrad maintained Virgin Galactic with a Buy rating on Friday and lowered the price target from $9 to $8, well above current prices.

According to Benzinga analyst data, Virgin Galactic has a Street-high price target of $36 and a Street-low target of 75 cents, with a consensus target sitting around $7.

SPCE Price Action: Virgin Galactic shares have a 52-week high of $23 and a 52-week low of $2.18. The stock was up 4.17% Monday morning, trading at $5 at the time of publication, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo: courtesy of Virgin Galactic.