New York, May 29, 2026, 05:01 (EDT)
Virgin Galactic Holdings shares traded at $4.53 before the New York open, after jumping 19.53% Thursday. That move pushed the stock to its highest close in weeks and was its fifth session in a row of gains. MarketWatch said 39.6 million shares changed hands, nearly four times the 50-day average. NYSE trading starts at 9:30 a.m. Eastern.
Virgin Galactic is back to trading more on milestones than its cash burn. Investors are weighing if the company can shift from testing to revenue-generating spaceflights before the year ends, with a tight schedule that doesn’t allow much room for delay.
Virgin Galactic is back in the air with VSS Unity. The company said Wednesday its prototype spaceship has resumed glide flights above Spaceport America in New Mexico. The flights are supposed to help pilots, crews and mission control get ready for the first tests of Virgin’s next-generation Spaceship.
Virgin Galactic Spaceline president Mike Moses called Unity an “outstanding real-world proxy for our new SpaceShip.” The company says it plans glide tests with its first new Spaceship in the third quarter, with rocket-powered flights following in the fourth. Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic after the close Thursday said a judge had signed off on a proposed settlement in shareholder derivative suits. These cases are tied to claims against some current and former officers and directors. According to the company, insurers will pay $2.75 million to Virgin Galactic, with the company keeping half. Defendants deny any wrongdoing. The update did not involve flight operations.
The stock has picked up a sector boost. Reuters said Wednesday U.S. space stocks moved higher as investors looked to SpaceX’s planned IPO, with AST SpaceMobile and Virgin Galactic getting attention. “SpaceX’s move had acted as a ‘lens to focus the investment community on space travel,’” said Peter Andersen, founder of Andersen Capital Management. Reuters
Virgin Galactic isn’t trading like Rocket Lab or AST SpaceMobile, both more exposed to launches and satellite comms. Still, renewed interest in public space stocks has brought fresh attention to Virgin Galactic, even as its main commercial flight business stays in turnaround mode.
Virgin Galactic’s numbers keep the pressure on the balance sheet. The company posted first-quarter revenue of $227,000 and a net loss near $64.7 million. Free cash flow came in at negative $93.3 million. Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities totaled $251 million at the end of March.
Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier said this month the company “remain[s] on track” for flight tests in the third quarter and commercial spaceflights in the fourth. He said spending was dropping each quarter as Virgin Galactic moves through what he called its final quarters before restarting commercial spaceflight at scale. Q4 CDN
Virgin Galactic has tapped the equity market, too. In April, it raised about $52 million in gross proceeds through an at-the-market offering. That program lets the company sell shares over time. Virgin Galactic had about $87 million left under the existing program. A filing showed the company also sought to redeem up to $10 million of first-lien notes due 2028 by issuing common stock, calling it cash preservation and liquidity management.
The run-up could just as easily reverse. Delays in the flight-test timeline, less interest in speculative space names, or more stock coming to market might weigh on shares, especially since commercial revenue is limited and losses are still high. Final court approval is still needed for the settlement before the claims go away.
SPCE is trading on volume and a tight calendar, with fresh space-sector flows and program news in play. Now the focus is on Friday to see if the session can hold these gains, or if shares unwind a rally that’s been running on pending milestones.
