Virgin Galactic soars as more analysts get on board space tourism story

Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc (NYSE:SPCE) shares soared in early trading on Monday after a ‘buy' recommendation from Bank of America.

Although the space tourism operator founded by entrepreneur Richard Branson is not yet carrying paying passengers, it is gearing up to begin early next year, BoA analysts said in a note to clients.

"We believe SPCE's growth potential is unparalleled vs. our coverage and the current nascent stages of the company provide investors with a unique entry point into the stock," they added.

On the same day, analysts at Susquehanna gave a ‘positive' rating, with a US$20 share price target.

Virgin Galactic is an "innovator of space technology with a truly unique offering that will allow civilians and professionals alike to access space for entertainment and research purposes," the analysts said.

"While this is an untested market, we believe SPCE's offering will be tapping into significant latent demand for space tourism."