SPCE Stock Rises As Virgin Galactic Reopens Ticket Sales, Hikes Prices, Delays Start Of Service
Virgin Galactic (SPCE) announced that ticket sales have reopened in its first earnings report since founder Richard Branson’s flight to the edge of space last month. But the start of commercial service was further delayed. SPCE stock rose in after-hours trading.
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The report comes as Astra Space (ASTR) announced Thursday its first commercial launch with the U.S. Space Force will take place no earlier than Aug. 27. The company is under contract for a second launch with the service later this year.
Virgin Galactic Report
Estimates: FactSet analysts see Virgin Galactic reporting a loss of 33 cents per share vs. a loss of 30 cents per share in the year-ago quarter. Revenue is seen rising to $300,000 from zero. The company has not yet started commercial service but has some small revenue streams for research flights.
Results: Virgin Galactic reported a loss of 39 cents per share on $571,000 in revenue. Branson’s flight in July carried revenue-generating scientific research experiments.
Virgin Galactic also reopened ticket sales with prices starting at $450,000 per seat, above the previous price point of $250,000. So far, 600 people have booked space flights before ticket sales were closed.
The pricing has three tiers: a single-seat, a family and friends multi-seat package, and an option to buy out the entire cabin.
Microgravity research and professional astronaut training is still priced at $600,000 per seat.
„From this report, I think they’re putting more pressure on Blue Origin to compete on price now,“ said Andrew Chanin, CEO of ProcureAM, which launched the Procure Space ETF (UFO).
Virgin Galactic said its next spaceflight, Unity 23, is targeted for late September and will be a revenue-generating flight with the Italian Air Force.
Then the Eve mothership that carries the spaceplane to high altitude will undergo an enhancement program that will wrap up around mid-2022. After that, another flight with a full complement of crew specialists will take place to confirm the cabin interior adjustments are functioning as planned.
Then commercial service is expected to start in late Q3 2022. That‘.s later than a previous timeline for early 2022, which was pushed back from early 2021
„I think there’s a lot riding on the success of that flight with the Italian Air Force,“ Chanin said.
A successful flight would not only secure more flights with the Italian Air Force but also inspire other space agencies, militaries and researchers to book Virgin Galactic flights.
During the earnings call, executives said that Virgin Galactic would prioritize the current ticket holders in upcoming flights but said that it’s „really important to do scientific research on our platform.“
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SPCE Stock
Shares climbed 4.7% to 33.00 in after-hours trading on the stock market today, after initially surgin 7.4%. SPCE stock fell hard last month after the company filed a regulatory notice following Branson’s flight that it plans to sell up to $500 million in stock. That triggered the worst weekly sell-off since SPCE stock became public. The stock has remained below the key 50-day line since.
The company said in the earnings release that it will use the proceeds for „general corporate purposes, with a priority on expansion of its spaceship fleet.“
Boeing (BA) closed up 1.5% Thursday after falling Wednesday as it delayed indefinitely the launch of its Starliner capsule to the International Space Station. Boeing’s venture capital arm HorizonX has a $20 million minority stake in Virgin Galactic.
Astra stock leapt 24% to 10.22 on the launch announcement but pared gains in after-hours trading. Shares began trading July 1 after a blank-check merger. It will report Q2 results on Aug. 12.
Delta Class Will Increase Launch Tempo
Virgin Galactic is building a Delta class spacecraft in an effort to increase launches. The new spaceplane will be able to turn around in one-week intervals, up from four to five weeks with the current VSS Unity class.
As Virgin Galactic’s launch cadence ramps up, the company said it would start looking at where to build a second spaceport next year.
Executives said that each spaceport will be unique and offer passengers a „varied look“ as they look back on Earth.
Follow Gillian Rich on Twitter for space news and more.
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