Large Capital Increase Following First Successful Private Spaceflight... Virgin Galactic Plummets 17%

Cathie Wood Has Already Sold All Holdings

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] Virgin Galactic, a space tourism company, saw its stock price plummet after announcing a large-scale paid capital increase one day after the first successful private spaceflight.

Virgin Galactic, a space tourism company led by British billionaire Richard Branson, chairman of Virgin Group, saw its stock price fall by 17% on the Nasdaq market on the 12th (local time). The company announced a $500 million (570 billion KRW) paid capital increase plan that negatively impacted the stock price.

Virgin Galactic plans to issue 10.2 million new shares, about 5% of the total issued shares, through the paid capital increase.

Virgin Galactic's stock price rose slightly in pre-market trading but started flat in regular trading and then widened the decline due to the burden of the paid capital increase.

The stock price of Virgin Galactic rose to around $62 at the beginning of the year amid the space theme, then plummeted to $15 in May, but recently showed strength again, surpassing $50.

The company appears to have used the successful spaceflight and stock price rise as an opportunity to raise funds. Although the company charged individuals $250,000 per space trip, it is still evaluated as being short of funds.

Meanwhile, Ark Asset Management, led by Cathie Wood, recently sold all its shares in Virgin Galactic through its space exploration exchange-traded fund (ETF).

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