Those interested in spaceflight will probably have to wait a while longer for their trip. According to CNBC, just shortly after sales began, the number of tickets sold reached as many as 1,000, with SpaceShipTwo aircraft having a capacity of six passengers. Preliminary information suggests that the first commercial flight should take place in the fourth quarter of 2022 at the earliest. The company has previously reported that it plans to carry approximately 500 passengers per year.
People interested in such a flight will pay extra
The price of a single ticket is 450 thousand USD, with a deposit of 150 thousand USD required at the time of booking and the rest to be paid later. For comparison - originally the tickets cost "only" 250 thousand USD, which means that their value has almost doubled.
The value of the company on the stock exchange is still quite low
Looking at the five-year chart, we can see that the highest value was reached by Virgin Galactic shares in June last year, when investors paid more than $ 45 per share. Right now, the price is just over $9 per share. * The year-over-year change is truly remarkable-approximately -80 percent, according to data from Investing.com. On the other hand, the company seems to have put the worst behind it and has successfully rebounded from the recent lows [1] it was at back in late January 2022.
*
Graph: Development of Virgin Galactic's value over the last 5 years. (Source: Investing.com)
Like a seesaw
Until now, the company's shares on the stock exchange since the IPO in 2019 have experienced high volatility and investors have become accustomed to significant fluctuations associated with the upcoming events. The last time was in the summer of 2021, when Branson successfully flew into space before one of the world's richest men, Jeff Bezos, who is the founder and CEO of Amazon. This was followed by a series of other positive news that pushed the value of the stock up several times over. Since then, however, it has seen a significant drop. * Major factors that have dragged the stock down include a Federal Aviation Administration investigation into flight safety, the necessity of upgrading the spaceships, and the postponement of the next flight until the end of this year. Add to this the economic results over the past six months and it is no wonder that negative investor sentiment has deepened.
The future is unclear
A possible weakness in the company's future value may be the fact that, unlike its competitors, the company founded by British tycoon Richard Branson does not communicate its plans and future development. Thus, apart from the forthcoming SpaceShip Three, no further developments are known to take place. However, the competition in the form of Blue Origin or SpaceX is strong and the company will have something to do to survive in the "space field". Indeed, given the ticket price, the pool of potential customers is very limited.
[*] Past performance is no guarantee of future results
[1] Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and current expectations, which may be inaccurate, or on the current economic environment, which may change. Such statements are not guarantees of future performance. They involve risks and other uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements.
