Virgin Galactic stock falls more than 20% amid uncertainty of spaceflight test schedule

Virgin Galactic stock drop after reporting first quarter outcomes accelerated in early buying and selling on Tuesday, with the corporate’s subsequent spaceflight test – and its broader path to starting industrial flights – probably delayed additional.

The area tourism firm gave an replace on progress towards a repeat of the spaceflight test that was aborted mid-flight in December. While the corporate says restore work on a difficulty with its spacecraft, VSS Unity, is now full, an surprising potential upkeep challenge with provider plane VMS Eve was recognized after test flights final week.

Virgin Galactic mentioned the problem in query was scheduled for upkeep this October, however the firm is analyzing whether or not it must conduct the upkeep now – which might seemingly additional delay its spaceflight testing timeline. The firm deliberate to redo the spaceflight in May, however now says timing is “at present being evaluated.”

“We will report again to the market subsequent week with an replace on schedule implications to our subsequent flight,” Virgin Galactic president of area missions and security Mike Moses mentioned through the firm’s convention name.

Virgin Galactic’s stock fell as a lot as 22% in premarket buying and selling from its earlier shut of $17.95 a share.

The premarket drop would carry Virgin Galactic’s stock to under $15 a share – its lowest degree in more than a yr, and additional including to share losses since hitting a excessive above $60 a share in February.

Virgin Galactic has 4 test flights remaining earlier than it completes improvement of its SpaceShipTwo system.

In the meantime, stock losses have accelerated, following delays to the primary of these 4 spaceflights, in addition to stake sales by chairman Chamath Palihapitiya, founder Richard Branson, and Cathie Wood’s new space ETF. The stock additionally fell after Jeff Bezos’ enterprise Blue Origin introduced plans to launch the first crewed flight of its space tourism rocket on July 20, a transfer which UBS warned likely removes Virgin Galactic’s first-mover benefit.

The starting of Virgin Galactic’s industrial service, forecast to begin in 2020 when the company completed its SPAC merger, was delayed to early 2022.