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Shares of Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. rose 10% Wednesday, putting the stock on pace for its biggest daily percentage gain since Nov. 14, when it rose 12.7%.
The stock is also set to snap a two-day losing streak that started when founder Sir Richard Branson told the Financial Times that his business empire would not be putting more money into Virgin Galactic
SPCE,
Last month Virgin Galactic narrowed its quarterly loss and more than doubled its revenue when it reported its third-quarter results. Virgin Galactic also fleshed out its near-term growth strategy when it reported third-quarter results, laying out the roadmap for its new Delta Class spacecraft.
Related: Virgin Galactic’s stock slides 17% after Sir Richard Branson rules out further investment
The Delta spacecraft will begin flight tests in 2025 and enter service in 2026. Unlike the company’s current Unity spacecraft, which has four seats for paying passengers, the Delta spacecraft will have six seats, and will be capable of making up to eight spaceflights a month, significantly more than Unity’s one spaceflight a month.
This will increase Virgin Galactic’s monthly revenue per spacecraft from the current maximum of $2.4 million to $28.8 million, the company said.
During the conference call to discuss its results, Virgin Galactic explained that it will undertake two more missions using its Unity spacecraft before pausing flights in mid-2024 to focus on developing the Delta spacecraft.
Related: A former astronaut’s lessons on life’s challenges and leadership — and dealing with mistakes
Last month Virgin Galactic was downgraded to underweight by Morgan Stanley. Of 12 analysts surveyed by FactSet, two have a buy rating, four have a hold rating, and six have an underweight or sell rating for Virgin Galactic.
Virgin Galactic shares have fallen 39.7% in 2023, compared with the S&P 500 index’s
SPX
gain of 18.9%.
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