Virgin Galactic shares fell below the market debut price

Virgin Galactic’s (SPCE) space tourism fell below $11.75 in trading on Thursday, below the level at which the stock debuted on the market more than two years ago. Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic went public through a merger with Special Acquisition Company (SPAC) Chamath Palihapitiya in October 2019, rising to $62.80 per share in February 2021. Although the space tourism company said at the time of its debut that it planned to begin customer flights in 2020, delays in testing and developing spacecraft have steadily shifted the schedule. 

After launching Branson and three other company employees on a test space flight in July 2021, Virgin Galactic’s commercial service was postponed to the end of this year due to further delays. As a result, a company that has yet to generate revenue loses between $55 million and $65 million per quarter based on adjusted EBITDA. As a result, Virgin Galactic shares fell to a 52-week low of $11.30 on Thursday morning, after which they reduced their daily losses to $11.78. Notably, Branson has been steadily selling parts of his stake in Virgin Galactic since the company went public.

Although he remains Virgin Galactic’s largest shareholder, Branson has raised more than $1.25 billion in four significant share sales. His global business conglomerate Virgin Group said at the time that the proceeds from the sale of shares to support Branson’s other leisure and travel businesses, which have been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.