New York, May 8, 2026, 17:02 (EDT)
Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. shares rallied 17.13% to close at $2.94 on Friday, rebounding after Thursday’s slide. Investors are now eyeing next week’s earnings and the company’s upcoming commercial spaceflight. The stock hit an intraday peak at $3.03, with 16.15 million shares changing hands, according to Investing.com.
This shift is notable—Virgin Galactic remains in limbo. The company’s near-term valuation doesn’t hinge much on what it’s earning right now. Instead, everything points to whether the new Delta spacecraft actually starts flight tests in the third quarter and gets commercial flights back up in the fourth, as management has pledged to investors.
Virgin Galactic plans to release its first-quarter numbers after the U.S. market wraps up on Thursday, May 14, with a conference call set for 5 p.m. Eastern. That update is expected to bring the spotlight back to cash burn—the amount the company goes through ahead of any spaceflight revenue returning.
MarketBeat analysts are projecting Virgin Galactic will report a first-quarter loss of 79 cents a share on revenue of just $0.20 million. That puts earnings per share for the quarter in negative territory once again.
The company logged $0.3 million in fourth-quarter revenue, a net loss of $63 million, and burned through $95 million in free cash flow, according to its March business update. Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities totaled $338 million at the end of 2025. Chief Executive Michael Colglazier pointed to “completed pivotal milestones” and said the team is “gearing up to begin rocket motor assembly” in Phoenix. Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic has put a fresh batch of spaceflight tickets back on sale, this time at $750,000 each—significantly higher than before, as the company wagers there’s still an appetite for suborbital journeys once its upgraded fleet arrives. The company says its first next-gen SpaceShip remains in ground tests, and it’s sticking with plans to move to flight tests in the third quarter.
The risk isn’t hard to spot. Virgin Galactic flagged in its annual report that revenue’s been slim so far, with bigger bills likely ahead as new vehicles get developed and tested. The company spelled out “substantial doubt” about staying afloat—essentially, Virgin Galactic needs stronger results or more cash to keep operations on track. SEC
The Street isn’t sold. Of the six analysts tracked by MarketBeat, two call it a sell, three rate it hold, and just one comes in with a buy. The consensus: “Reduce.” Their average 12-month price target lands at $3.33. In April, Charles Minervino at Susquehanna nudged his target up to $3.00 but stayed neutral. Jefferies’ Greg Konrad, meanwhile, dropped his target to $5.00, sticking with a buy. MarketBeat
The landscape looks different now. In January, Blue Origin announced it would halt New Shepard missions for at least two years, following 38 launches that took 98 passengers past the Kármán line—the 100-kilometer mark widely regarded as the edge of space. SpaceX still rules the private orbital flight sector with its Crew Dragon capsule, though that business operates in a separate, pricier tier than Virgin Galactic’s suborbital service.
Virgin Galactic’s Friday jump hardly closes the book. Instead, it puts even more weight on May 14. Investors will be looking for proof that the Delta timeline remains on track, that costs haven’t slipped beyond management’s grip, and that ticket sales can actually deliver cash before the balance sheet pinches tighter.
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