Palihapitiya Sells Off Virgin Galactic Stake, Freeing Up More Cash

Chamath Palihapitiya has sold the last of his personal stake in Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc SPCE, freeing up another $21 million in cash. 

What Happened: This week, Palihapitiya sold his remaining 6.2 million shares of Virgin Galactic at an average price of $35, according to a regulatory filing posted Friday.

In December, Palihapitiya sold 3.8 million shares in the company and said on Twitter that he planned to use the money to fund a number of new projects in 2021.

Palihapitiya and business partner Ian Osborne still indirectly own 15.8 million shares of Virgin Galactic through an SPAC, according to a Markets Insider report.

Why It Matters: Palihapitiya and his business partner Osborne brought Richard Branson’s start-up Virgin Galactic public with the special purpose acquisition company Social Capital Hedosophia in October 2019.

Since going public, shares in Virgin Galactic have soared 500%, reaching $62.80 on Feb. 4 of this year.

Although the share price has declined over 55% since then, investors are expecting a big year for Virgin Galactic with the company set to debut its future fleet on Mar. 30 and to complete its next test flight in May.

The company also plans to launch Jared Isaacman and three of his guests into space in the fourth quarter of 2021.

SPCE Price Action: Virgin Galactic shares were down 15.21% at $25.69 at last check Friday. 

Photo courtesy of Virgin Galactic.