NEW YORK, May 22, 2026, 14:09 EDT
- Virgin Galactic was recently near $3.25, up about 18%, with volume running far above average.
- The move followed an 11.34% gain on Thursday and a broader bid for space-related stocks.
- The company still faces cash-burn and financing risk while it works toward flight testing later this year.
Virgin Galactic Holdings shares jumped in Friday afternoon trading, extending a sharp rebound as investors piled into space-related stocks after fresh details around SpaceX’s expected initial public offering, or IPO — a first sale of shares to public investors.
The stock was recently around $3.25, up roughly 18% on the day, after touching a session high above $3.40. Volume was nearly three times its recent average, a sign that short-term traders, not just long holders, were driving the tape.
The move matters now because it came after a choppy week for Virgin Galactic. Shares rose 11.34% on Thursday to close at $2.75, ending a four-day losing streak, while the Nasdaq Composite rose just 0.09% and the Dow gained 0.55% that day.
The fresh catalyst was not a new Virgin Galactic announcement. It was sector heat. The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that AST SpaceMobile and Virgin Galactic each climbed more than 9%, while Rocket Lab and Firefly Aerospace also gained, as SpaceX IPO talk lifted listed space names.
Reuters reported that SpaceX plans a staged system for early share resales after its IPO, rather than one standard six-month lock-up, and said the company is aiming for a $1.75 trillion valuation. Mayer Brown attorney Ali Perry told Reuters the structure could avoid “one big lock-up cliff,” though it would not remove volatility altogether. Reuters
For Virgin Galactic, the market is looking past near-term revenue and toward the next spacecraft milestones. The company said on May 14 that its first new SpaceShip was advancing through ground testing, with flight testing still targeted for the third quarter and first spaceflight for the fourth quarter.
Chief Executive Michael Colglazier said the company had “delivered the first of our new SpaceShips” to its test-and-launch hangar and remained “on track” for that flight schedule. He also described the company as working through the “final quarters of our pre-revenue phase.” Virgin Galactic
The financial picture is still thin. Virgin Galactic reported first-quarter revenue of $0.2 million, a net loss of $65 million and free cash flow of negative $93 million. Free cash flow means cash left after operating spending and capital expenditures; a negative figure means the company used cash.
Virgin has been trying to manage that drain. A May 18 filing showed the company redeemed $10 million of 9.80% first-lien notes by issuing 3.77 million shares, leaving about $202.5 million of those notes outstanding. The filing said the move was part of a broader capital-management and cash-preservation strategy.
But the risk is that a sector rally does not fix the balance sheet. Virgin Galactic’s quarterly filing said it is still in the pre-commercial service phase, has no spaceflight revenue, expects significant expenses tied to next-generation spaceships, and has conditions that raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern — an accounting warning about whether a company can fund itself long enough without more support.
That leaves the stock tied to two calendars: the SpaceX IPO cycle and Virgin Galactic’s own test-flight schedule. A delay in testing, weak risk appetite after the holiday, or more equity issuance could quickly change the trade.
U.S. stock markets were open Friday, but the New York Stock Exchange lists Memorial Day, Monday, May 25, as a 2026 market holiday. Trading resumes Tuesday with Virgin Galactic still a high-beta space bet, now carrying more attention than it had at the start of the week.
