Why Virgin Galactic Shares Are Rocketing Higher Today

Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc SPCE is trading higher Wednesday after the company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings results, issued guidance and confirmed that its commercial service remains on track to launch this year.

Virgin Galactic reported quarterly revenue of $141,000, which came in below the estimate of $330,000. The space tourism company reported a quarterly earnings loss of 31 cents per share, which beat the estimate for a loss of 34 cents per share.

"We remain on track and on schedule to complete our enhancement program and launch commercial service later this year," said Michael Colglazier, CEO of Virgin Galactic. "We achieved many important milestones in 2021 that laid an essential foundation towards becoming a scaled, commercial operation."

Virgin Galactic said it opened sales to the general public in recent weeks and demand remains strong. 

"We are currently building our operations to accommodate our growing customer base," Colglazier added.

The company still expects to launch its commercial space tourism service in the fourth quarter. Virgin Galactic said it expects a free cash flow loss of $75 to $85 million in the first quarter. 

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SPCE Price Action: Virgin Galactic has traded as low as $7.58 and as high as $57.50 over a 52-week period.

The stock was up 13.3% at $8.86 at time of publication.

Photo: courtesy of Virgin Galactic.