- Virgin Galactic stock fell by nearly 9% early Friday after chairman Chamath Palihapitya sold his personal stake.
- Palihapitya netted $211 million after selling 6.2 million shares.
- The billionaire chairman still holds an indirect stake in the space tourism company.
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Shares of Virgin Galactic slumped early Friday after billionaire chairman Chamath Palihapitiya sold his personal stake in the space-tourism company for $211 million.
Palihapitiya cashed out 6.2 million shares at an average price of $35, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Virgin Galactic shares dropped as much as 8.7% as they hit $27.66 in heavy volume during premarket trade. The stock later pared the loss to 6.7%.
Palihapitiya, with his business partner Ian Osborne, still indirectly own 15.8 million shares via their investment vehicle, SCH Sponsor Corp. Palihapitiya in December sold 3.8 million shares in Virgin Galactic. In a tweet, he had said he needed cash to fund several new projects.
Virgin Galactic, founded by billionaire Richard Branson, went public in October 2019 by merging with Palihapitiya and Osborne’s Social Capital Hedosophia, a special-purpose acquisition vehicle or SPAC.