Virgin Galactic Shares Rise on Regulatory Approval

By Matt Grossman

Shares in Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. were poised to continue climbing Monday morning after the space-tourism company said Friday that it had cleared a regulatory hurdle to send passengers on suborbital spaceflights.

The shares were up 7.8% on Monday morning in premarket trading, continuing on from a 39% jump Friday. Shares closed Friday at $55.91, and have more than doubled in value year to date.

Last week, Virgin said the Federal Aviation Administration expanded its space-launch license. The agency doesn't regulate the safety of space-tourism flights such as Virgin's, but the approval represents a sign-off on the company's launch procedures.

The company has additional test flights planned before seats open to paying passengers.

Blue Origin LLC, another space-tourism company, plans a high-profile launch next month that will include founder Jeff Bezos as one of its first space passengers.

Write to Matt Grossman at matt.grossman@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 28, 2021 08:16 ET (12:16 GMT)

Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024