Billionaire Branson Sold $300 Million In Virgin Galactic Stock This Week As Shares Tumbled - Forbes

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Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group sold off roughly $300 million in shares of British-American aerospace company Virgin Galactic this week, taking advantage of a recent run-up in prices before the stock started tumbling more than 25%.

Key Facts

In a regulatory filing first reported by CNBC, Branson’s Virgin Investments disclosed it sold about 10.4 million shares for $299.9 million through roughly a dozen transactions between Tuesday and Thursday, trimming its stake to just about 46.3 million shares, or 18% of shares outstanding.

The investment firm controlled by Branson started selling stock Tuesday at a price of $34.39, continuing through the next two days as prices slumped more than 26%.

Virgin Investments also gave away nearly 58,000 shares—worth nearly $2 million—to an unnamed former employee.

Shares of Virgin Galactic fell 3.4% to $25.07 in premarket trading, pushing its losses to nearly 30% from a Monday close of $35.21.

In a statement, Virgin said proceeds from the sales will “support [Virgin Group’s] portfolio of global leisure, holiday and travel businesses that continue to be affected by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, in addition to . . . the development and growth of new and existing businesses.”

Key Background

Virgin Galactic shares have been on a wild ride this year. The stock nearly tripled as retail investors plowed into heavily shorted stocks in the first quarter, but then tumbled nearly 70% as the fervor wore off. Shares soon skyrocketed again this summer in anticipation of Branson's first trip to outer space. The successful flight last month marked Virgin Galactic’s second in a series of test runs intended to help it prepare for its first commercial passengers, who are expected to start flying next year. However, shares started crashing the next day after Virgin Galactic announced its intention to sell $500 million in stock to investors.