Richard Branson Went To Space. Virgin Galactic Shares Up By 9%

The shares of Virgin rallied by over 9% during the pre-market trading session today after Richard Branson completed a test flight to space yesterday.

Branson Completes Long-Awaited Space Flight Test

The CEO of Virgin Galactic, Sir Richard Branson, completed his first test flight to space yesterday. This is the first time the billionaire is making the trip to space after roughly 17 years of development and over a billion dollars invested in the company.

By completing the test flight to space, Branson became the first billionaire space company founder to do so, beating the likes of Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk. Branson followed Virgin Galactic’s spacecraft VSS Unity, which took off above the skies of New Mexico on Sunday.

Following the flight, Branson said, “We’re here to make space more accessible to all at all. The mission statement that I wrote inside my spacesuit was to turn the dream of space travel into a reality for my grandchildren and for many people who are alive today, for everybody.”

The VSS Unity is designed to hold two pilots and six passengers. The company now has roughly 600 reservations for tickets on future flights, with each ticket sold between $200,000 and $250,000.

Space Flight Pushes Virgin Galactic’s Shares Higher

The shares of Virgin Galactic surged by nearly 10% earlier today following the success of the Branson-led space flight. The stock price rose as high as $51 per share earlier today during the pre-market trading session.

However, the Virgin Galactic’s rally has cooled down, and the stock is now trading just above the $49 mark. The company is expected to make three more spaceflights before the end of the year.

With Virgin Galactic’s share price rallying following, investors could expect Amazon’s stock price to increase once Jeff Bezos goes to space with his Blue Origin company. Bezos is expected to make the trip on July 20, less than ten days after Richard Branson.