Jefferies Financial Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE) Stock Price

Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE) had its price target decreased by Jefferies Financial Group from $8.00 to $5.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 103.67% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Susquehanna set a $3.50 price target on shares of Virgin Galactic in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Virgin Galactic in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $2.30 price target on Virgin Galactic and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $3.45.

Virgin Galactic Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of SPCE traded up $0.06 during trading on Thursday, reaching $2.46. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,358,092 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,424,948. The company has a market cap of $179.53 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.42 and a beta of 2.23. The company has a quick ratio of 2.87, a current ratio of 2.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The company has a fifty day moving average of $2.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3.26. Virgin Galactic has a twelve month low of $2.13 and a twelve month high of $6.64.

Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 30th. The company reported ($0.98) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.12) by $0.14. The business had revenue of $0.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.41 million. Virgin Galactic had a negative net margin of 18,063.93% and a negative return on equity of 108.78%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($2.53) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Virgin Galactic will post -16.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Virgin Galactic

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SPCE. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC lifted its position in Virgin Galactic by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 132,342 shares of the company’s stock worth $425,000 after buying an additional 32,330 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Virgin Galactic by 78.2% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 45,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,000 after acquiring an additional 19,750 shares in the last quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA grew its holdings in shares of Virgin Galactic by 91.0% during the 4th quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA now owns 113,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $363,000 after acquiring an additional 53,864 shares in the last quarter. Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Virgin Galactic in the third quarter worth $401,000. Finally, Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft acquired a new position in shares of Virgin Galactic in the third quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.62% of the company’s stock.

About Virgin Galactic

Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc (NYSE: SPCE) is a commercial spaceflight company developing and operating spacecraft for private individuals and research customers. The firm’s primary business is suborbital human spaceflight, offering passengers a brief trip to the edge of space aboard its reusable spaceplane. In parallel, the company is building out infrastructure and support services for suborbital payload deployments and microgravity research missions.

The core flight system consists of a carrier aircraft, WhiteKnightTwo, which lifts the spaceplane SpaceShipTwo to high altitude before release.