Wall Street Analyst Says Virgin Galactic Hype Already Priced In

It’s not easy being a meme stock these days. Just ask Virgin Galatic. After rallying nearly 40% last Friday to its best price since early 2021, the stock has a target on its back and Wall Street is aiming straight for it. Bank of America analyst Ronald Epstein has reportedly downgraded shares of Richard Branson’s company to “sell” from “buy,” skipping over the “hold” rating altogether.

Epstein might have gotten whiplash after seeing shares of Virgin Galactic surpass the USD 41 price target he had on the stock. Last Friday, shares climbed from just over USD 40 to almost USD 56. Epstein believes the space hype is already priced into the stock. That would mean that last Friday’s rally was the encore before the spacecraft left even the earth with passengers.

Meme stocks tend to trade on social media sentiment instead of fundamentals, but the downward notches have taken a toll. The stock is down 1.5% today, extending yesterday’s sell-off.

No Backpedaling

Bank of America is the second Wall Street firm to lower its rating on Virgin Galactic since the company received regulatory approval for passenger flights to suborbital space. Alembic Global’s Pete Skibitski in recent days lowered his rating on the stock from overweight to neutral, blaming a valuation that has “now stretched to excess levels.” The same could be said for the entire meme stock category.

And while the analyst didn’t backpedal, he did leave room to change his mind when Branson’s rocket takes flight, which will most likely be this summer. Skibitski reportedly acknowledged that the trip could be a potential driver of the stock price, suggesting that there might be more runway for gains.

Billionaire Battle

The price turnaround could come sooner than analysts think. Billionaires are a competitive bunch, and Jeff Bezos, who is behind space tourism company Blue Origin, has already slated his flight to take place on July 20. According to reports, Branson is now eyeing liftoff on the weekend of July 4 to beat his rival to the punch. Retail investors on the WallStreetBets forum aren’t expecting Branson to rush his plans.

Investors who are in SPCE for the long term don’t appear to be too worried about the recent profit-taking. In the meantime, Virgin Galactic is sitting on USD 600 million in cash, though it burns through that quickly, given the company’s lofty mission. Morgan Stanley analysts don’t expect Branson’s company to produce positive free cash flow for another seven years even in the best of scenarios. With tickets to space running USD 250K a pop, and hundreds of reservations in the pipeline, this meme stock could have more surprises for Wall Street up its sleeve.