By Nate Wolf

Once the hottest name in space tourism, Virgin Galactic Holdings is trying to stage a comeback.

Shares of the space-travel company founded by English billionaire Richard Branson jumped 14% to $2.79 on Monday. The stock was on pace for its third gain in the last four sessions and its largest single-day percentage increase since last July, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

The move Monday may be an extension of last week when Virgin Galactic announced it would resume commercial suborbital flights late this year. The company is selling 50 tickets for $750,000 a pop, up from a past fee of $600,000, and it expects to raise prices further as additional tickets become available.

The 50 new customers will join 650 existing "astronauts," as Virgin Galactic calls them, in the company's backlog. The company last completed a spaceflight in 2024.

The restart of commercial missions with a mothership and two Delta spaceships opens up the potential for $450 million in annual revenue across 125 flights, analysts at Jefferies said. Virgin Galactic is targeting the release of a second launch vehicle, with two more Delta spacecraft, by 2030.

Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating on the stock but cut its price target to $5 from $8.

"We believe Virgin Galactic has strong long-term prospects, supported by a solid backlog and early-mover advantage, coupled with a distinct experiential offering," wrote analyst Greg Konrad. "Near term, the biggest headwind is supply, which should expand over the next three to four years, capturing the financial benefits within backlog."

Founded by Branson in 2004, Virgin Galactic has stuck to its roots by focusing on space tourism, while peers like Rocket Lab, AST SpaceMobile, and Elon Musk's SpaceX prioritize commercial uses. That choice hasn't worked out for the stock.

Virgin Galactic shares closed at an all-time high of $1,188.20 on February 11, 2021, a few months before Branson got strapped in for the world's first space tourism flight. The stock has declined 99.8% since then, bringing its market capitalization to around $200 million.

SpaceX is seeking an initial public offering valuation of $2 trillion, Bloomberg reported last week.

Virgin Galactic has lost almost $2 billion over the last five years, but analysts polled by FactSet expect the annual losses to narrow significantly in 2026 and 2027.

Write to Nate Wolf at nate.wolf@barrons.com

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April 06, 2026 11:26 ET (15:26 GMT)

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