Virgin Galactic’s board has approved a 1-for-20 reverse stock split
Shares of Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. are down 9.1% in premarket trades after the space-tourism company announced a reverse stock split late Wednesday.
The reverse split was approved by the company’s shareholders Wednesday at Virgin Galactic’s SPCE, -14.25% annual meeting. The company’s board then approved the reverse stock split at a ratio of 1-for-20.
In a statement, Virgin Galactic said the reverse stock split is expected to become effective at 5 p.m. Eastern time on June 14, after the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The company’s common stock is expected to start trading on a split-adjusted basis when the market opens on June 17, trading under the existing ticker symbol “SPCE.”
“The primary goal of the reverse stock split is to increase the per-share market price of the company’s common stock to meet the minimum per-share bid price requirement for continued listing on the NYSE,” Virgin Galactic said, in the statement. “As a result of the reverse stock split, every 20 shares of the company’s common stock issued and outstanding will be automatically reclassified into one new share of the company’s common stock.”
Virgin Galactic shares ended Wednesday’s session down 5.5%, to 85 cents, after ending Tuesday’s session up 12.3% to register their biggest gain in two weeks.
On Saturday, Virgin Galactic successfully completed the final commercial flight of its Unity spacecraft.
The spaceflight company founded by Richard Branson will now halt commercial operations to develop its new Delta-class spacecraft, which is expected to enter commercial service in 2026.
Virgin Galactic shares are down 65.2% in 2024, compared with the S&P 500 index’s SPX gain of 13.7%.