Virgin Galactic’s Unity spacecraft prepares for flight.
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Virgin Galactic’s stock fell after the company delayed its next space flight test on Friday, which was scheduled for this weekend on Friday.
“We have advanced in our pre-flight preparations and, during this process, we decided to allow more time for technical checks. We are working to identify the next flight opportunity, ”said the company in a statement.
Virgin Galactic shares have risen more than 450% since the company went public in October 2019, with its market valuation now approaching $ 14 billion – despite the company’s lack of significant revenue to date and losses constant quarterly figures. The speculative trading of investors so far depends on Virgin Galactic’s progress in completing its development program and starting commercial flights, with updates and delays having a pronounced effect on daily stock swings.
On Friday, shares fell up 11% in the pre-market, compared to the previous close of $ 59.41.
The stock had jumped 13% the day before, after an FAA notice indicated that the space flight test was about to be launched on Saturday. The company confirmed on Thursday that it was “making good progress in flight preparations”, but noted at the time that the flight attempt was still pending technical preparation.
A technical check can be for a wide variety of reasons, from hardware inspection to software verification, so the delay can vary from days to weeks, depending on the severity of the problem.
The next space flight test is a repeat of the December attempt that the company aborted mid-launch. Virgin Galactic spent two months analyzing the cause of the abortion and conducting ground tests, with the test flight set to verify “the corrective work that has been completed”.
While only two pilots will be on board, the flight is expected to be the first of three in a series, as the company seeks to complete the development of its spacecraft system.
Earlier this week, UBS lowered the stock’s rating to neutral, citing the stock’s jump at the beginning of the year. UBS said in a note to customers that “we are paying close attention to the assessment that looks full”, although the next test flights create an attractive “catalyst chain”.
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