Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE) stock is soaring 40% this morning and is one of the top-trending tickers on social media today. The company announced that it intends to launch its first commercial spaceflight between June 27 and June 30.
Called Galactic 01, Virgin Galactic’s first commercial flight will transport “three crew members from the Italian Air Force and the National Research Council of Italy” to space. During their mission, the Italians will “conduct microgravity research.”
Future Plans and SPCE’s History
Virgin Galactic intends to begin carrying private citizens, commonly called “space tourists,” to the edge of space in August. The company plans to provide similar trips every subsequent month.
Last month, three of the company’s employees traveled to the edge of space, marking the company’s first flight with humans aboard since 2021. In that year, Virgin suspended its flights because of problems with its spaceship. One of its difficulties was caused by “a potential manufacturing defect in a flight control actuation system component” supplied by another firm.
Separately, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) probed the company because its spaceship reportedly veered from its planned flight path during its return to Earth in July 2021.
Two Banks Differ on Virgin Galactic’s Outlook
Noting that the company is only utilizing one mothership at this point, Bank of America warned last month that the situation “exposes the company to tremendous operational risk” if the ship can no longer function.
Much more upbeat, also in May, was Morgan Stanley, which wrote that the company’s upcoming flights could boost SPCE stock.
Overall, however, most Wall Street analysts are “hold” or “sell” on SPCE stock.
SPCE Stock: What Investors Should Watch
Or course, investors should monitor the extent to which the company’s flights are successful and proceed according to plan, as well as any technical difficulties with its mothership. Also important will be the number of space tourists that the company is able to recruit for its trips and its ability to keep its costs down.
On the date of publication, Larry Ramer did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
