Virgin Galactic's First Launch

Today is Friday, June 16, 2023.

The Early Bird Index today is 56.68.

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Virgin Galactic's First Launch

The day that investors of the spaceflight company Virgin Galactic (NYSE: SPCE) have been waiting for is finally here, sending shares up 43.84% in after-hours trading on Thursday.

Details: Virgin Galactic announced that it will have its first commercial space launch. The first flight, planned between June 27 to June 30, will be a scientific research mission. The second spaceflight will be in early August 2023. The company said that there will be monthly spaceflights.

Background: It’s been years of testing and delays for Virgin Galatic, including the final test flight last month. With this announcement, the company can finally start to bring in additional revenue.

Stock Price: Virgin Galactic is up 16% in 2023, although the stock is down 60% since its IPO.

Final Thoughts: This is great news for Virgin Galactic, but there are still financial questions that have to be answered. Last month, the company posted disappointing financial earnings results.  

Notables

Notable Earnings Today: N/A.

Notable IPOs Today: Metals Acquisition Limited (NYSE: MTAL), BranchOut Food Inc. Common Stock (Nasdaq: BOF), Fortrea Holdings Inc. Common Stock When Issued (Nasdaq: FTREV), Osisko Development Corp. Warrant (Nasdaq: ODVWW), Azitra Inc. (NYSE American: AZTR).

Notable Equity Crowdfunding Campaigns Ending Today: Wandering Spirits (Honeycomb), Phew’s Pies (Honeycomb), Rule G Brewing (Mainvest), Miss Prissy's (Mainvest), Bowery Spokane (Mainvest).

Notable Economic Events Today: Michigan Consumer Expectations / Sentiment (10:00 a.m. ET).

Adobe’s AI Strategy Wins Again

Photo by Szabo Viktor / Unsplash

Shares of Adobe (Nasdaq: ADBE) increased by 3.54% in Thursday’s after-hours trading after the company posted strong financial results.

Financials: Adobe reported earnings of $3.91 per share in the past quarter and revenue of $4.82 billion; both were better than expected.

Quote: “Adobe’s ground-breaking innovation positions us to lead the new era of generative AI given our rich datasets, foundation models and ubiquitous product interfaces.” - CEO Shantanu Narayen.

Outlook: Adobe expects earnings per share for the fiscal year to be between $15.65 to $15.75, which was better than expected.

Stock Price: Adobe’s stock is up 45% this year.

Final Thoughts: Adobe’s AI strategy is winning big in 2023. But there are still some questions about its acquisition of Figma, which might be held up by regulators.

Spot Bitcoin ETF Paperwork Filed

We might finally get a spot Bitcoin ETF (exchange-traded fund), with BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) filing paperwork for an ETF late Thursday afternoon called the iShares Bitcoin Trust.

Definition: A spot Bitcoin ETF tracks the price of Bitcoin assets. It is different than Bitcoin futures ETFs, which only track Bitcoin contracts. A spot Bitcoin ETF would give investors direct exposure to the cryptocurrency.

Background: The SEC has rejected previous attempts to start a spot Bitcoin ETF.

Final Thoughts: BlackRock’s application for a spot Bitcoin ETF caused crypto shares to spike on Thursday.

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Trends to Watch

Surprise: US retail sales rose in May (CNN)

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