Virgin Galactic stock sinks on plan to sell up to $500m in shares

Virgin Galactic filed to sell as much as $500m in shares after founder Richard Branson’s successful flight to suborbital space on Sunday.

Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. filed to sell as much as $500 million in shares following a rocket-powered test flight by founder Richard Branson that won Wall Street praise as a “marketing coup.” The success of the hour-long mission to more than 50 miles (80 kilometers) above Earth boosted Virgin Galactic’s plan to start offering tourism trips next year. But the shares tumbled the most in almost seven months after the disclosure Monday of the potential stock sale, which suggested the company’s need for additional funds as it prepares its commercial debut. “Welcome to the dawn of a new space age,” Branson told guests Sunday at the Spaceport America complex near the town of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.