Richard Branson sells a part of his Virgin Galactic stake worth $300 million

The latest news is doing the rounds about Richard Branson selling his stake in Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SPCE). Branson, who founded the company, sold as many as 10.4 million shares of Virgin Galactic through his Virgin Investments group. The deal is worth $300 million, according to InsiderScore.com.

Richard Branson sold 10.4 million shares of Virgin Galactic

According to an SEC filing, the shares were sold at various price ranges, for anywhere between $25.75 and $34.39 per share. The sale was made this week. According to Bloomberg, Branson sold 2.5% company shares. As a result, Branson is left with a 24% stake in the group worth around $1.5 billion.

The sale deal was initiated to raise money to fund his other corporate ventures. A Virgin Group representative disclosed to Bloomberg that the money earned through the sale would support his travel and leisure businesses. A portion of the funds will be used to develop new business ventures. 

Virgin Galactic stock downgraded

Virgin Galactic stock stands downgraded. Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock from equal weight to underweight on Wednesday. The company went a step ahead and issued a note to clients stating that there is no reason to get excited about Virgin Galactic as the flight schedule is all set to fly into a quieter period. Subsequently, Credit Suisse also downgraded the stock on Thursday.

In the backdrop of the developments, Branson’s parent company issued a statement that read: