Sir Richard Branson and four entities he controls have sold 5,584,000 shares of Virgin Galactic over the past three days, according to CNBC. The shares were sold at prices between $26.85 and $28.73 and were worth $150.3 million.
Branson’s sale comes a month after Virgin Galactic Chairman Chamath Palihapitiya sold his remaining personal stake in the company.
Palihapitiya said he plans to redirect the sale into a large investment to combat climate change and remains committed to Virgin Galactic’s team, mission, and prospects.
Last year, Branson sold about $500 million of his stake in Virgin Galactic as COVID-19 hit Virgin Group’s leisure and travel businesses.
In December, Virgin Galactic suffered a setback when electromagnetic interference caused an early abort of its spaceflight attempt.
Following development delays, Virgin Galactic said it does not expect to begin flying commercial flights until early 2022.
Virgin Galactic expects to fly four more spaceflight tests with its “VSS Unity” spacecraft, including flying Branson this summer.Virgin Galactic stock is currently declining. SPCE: NYSE is down 4.42% on premarket.
