Why Virgin Galactic's Stock Is Trading Lower Today

Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. SPCE shares are trading lower after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock from Equal-Weight to Underweight and announced a $25 price target.

Morgan Stanley analyst Kristine Liwag noted 'After the expected flight of Unity 23 in September 2021, the company’s sole mothership, Eve, will be grounded for an 8 month enhancement period. During this heavy maintenance period, Virgin Galactic will not be able to conduct any space flights until summer of 2022.'

The analyst also noted 'We expect shares to return towards long-term valuation of $25 as the company completes a catalyst rich period after Sir Richard Branson’s successful flight and transitions to a prolonged period of no flights.'

Virgin Galactic Holdings, an integrated aerospace company, develops human spaceflight for private individuals and researchers in the United States. It also manufactures air and space vehicles.

Virgin Galactic's stock is trading about 13.3% lower at $27.15 per share on Wednesday at the time of publication. The stock has a 52-week high of $62.80 and a 52-week low of $14.27.