SPCE: Virgin Galactic Stock Rockets 17% on First Commercial Flight into Space

Galactic 01 is scheduled for liftoff between June 27 and June 30 and it will carry three crew members.

• Rocket ships are back but not the ones that can launch your portfolio to the moon. Unless you bet heavily on Virgin Galactic SPCE before it unveiled it’s about to shoot some people to space. The company revealed on Thursday its Galactic 01 is taking flight with three crew members between June 27 and June 30.
• The announcement boosted Virgin Galactic’s stock by 17% to close Friday at $4.73 a share, giving the company a $1.3bn valuation. Earlier during the session, investor enthusiasm shot the share price more to an upside of more than 50%. For the year, the stock is up roughly 35%.
• It took a while for the company, founded by Sir Richard Branson, to aim for the skies. High hopes for star-studded flights had lifted shares to more than $50 in July 2021. Technical hurdles, however, have weighed on Virgin Galactic’s plans to defy gravity.