Virgin Galactic (SPCE) & Astra Space (ASTR): 2 space stocks flying high

Spaceflight company Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc (SPCE) and space start-up Astra Space Inc (Nasdaq: ASTR) stocks drew massive interest from investors as they topped the trends on Wall Street Friday.

SPCE stock surged 8.47 percent to US$34.25 at 12.41 pm ET., and ASTR stock jumped 8.71 percent to US$11.07 at 11.26 am ET. 

Let’s look at the two companies’ recent developments, which may have contributed to Friday’s strong price movements.

Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc

Virgin Galactic had released its second-quarter earnings on August 5. It also had announced to restart ticket sales for its next spaceflight in September, with each ticket costing over US$450,000. Earlier, the tickets were priced at between US$200,000 and US$250,000.

The next flight will also carry members of the Italian Air Force, which have already booked their tickets. The announcement came after CEO Richard Branson flew to space last month.

The company organised two spaceflights in the second quarter after receiving approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to carry tourists.

In Q2 of FY 2021, the company’s total revenue was US$0.571 million. Its gross profit was US$0.508 million. Its net loss came in at US$94.04 million compared to a loss of US$71.97 million in the year-ago quarter.

The company’s adjusted EBITDA was a loss of US$56.37 million compared to a loss of US$54.33 million in the same quarter the previous year. Its liquidity reserves were US$552 million as of June 30, 2021.

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Source: Pixabay.

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It has a market cap of US$8.1 billion, with a forward P/E one year of -26.28. The EPS is US$-1.59. The stock’s 52-week highest and lowest prices were US$62.80 and US$14.27, respectively.

On July 11 this year, Richard Branson flew to space in SpaceShipTwo, the spacecraft developed by the company.

Astra Space Inc

This space start-up plans to launch its first satellite into space at 1 pm ET on August 27. It was announced on August 5. It is the first space company to trade on Nasdaq.

The stock value of ASTR went up by 7.34 percent YTD. Its market cap is US$2.7 billion. The forward P/E ratio for one year is -10.54. Astra’s 52-week highest and lowest stock prices were US$22.47 and US$8.12, respectively.

The company’s GAAP net loss was US$31.29 million in Q2 of 2021, compared to US$8.82 million in the year-ago quarter. Its adjusted EBITDA was a loss of US$21.39 million against a loss of US$6.62 million in the same quarter of 2020.

As of June 30, 2021, its liquidity reserves US$452.4 million.

Please note: The above constitutes a preliminary view, and any interest in stocks/cryptocurrencies should be evaluated further from an investment point of view.