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☆ Here are Friday's biggest analyst calls: Nvidia, Apple, Carnival, Snowflake, Nike, SolarEdge and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Jefferies upgrades Carnival to buy from hold Jefferies said it sees a "confluence of positive dynamics" for Carnival. Citi initiates Apple as buy Citi said it sees further upside for the tech giant, slapping a Street-high $240 price target. Citi initiates Dell as buy Citi said the computer maker is gaining share. Goldman Sachs reiterates Nike as buy Goldman Sachs said it's standing by shares of Nike after the company's earnings report Thursday. " Bank of America reiterates T-Mobile as buy Bank of America said the stock is "undervalued."

Persons: TD Cowen, Cowen, Goldman Sachs, Goldman, Jefferies, Snowflake, Virgin, Daiwa, NKE, Stephens, SolarEdge, Riley, Stifel, Davidson Organizations: Citi, Pacific Biosciences, Pacific Bioscience, Jefferies, Deutsche Bank, Apple, Dell, Bank of America, Virgin Galactic, underperform Bank of America, Virgin Galactic's, Italian Air Force, AMD, Intel, Nike, BMO, FirstService Brands, Occidental Petroleum, Mobile, Southwestern Energy Locations: 3Q23, China, Occidental, midstream

The flight marks a decisive moment for Virgin Galactic Holding Inc (SPCE.N), the space tourism venture founded by British billionaire Richard Branson in 2004, as it inaugurates commercial service following several years fraught with development setbacks. Rounding out the crew was their Virgin Galactic trainer, Colin Bennett, the company's lead "astronaut instructor," and Unity's two pilots, Michael Masucci and Nicola Pecile. A final crewed test flight to space was conducted with little fanfare five weeks ago. Virgin Galactic has said it has already booked a backlog of some 800 customers, charging from $250,000 to $450,000 per seat, and envisions eventually building a large enough fleet to accommodate 400 flights annually. An earlier prototype of the Virgin Galactic rocket plane crashed during a test flight over California's Mojave Desert in 2014, killing one pilot and seriously injuring another.

Persons: Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos's, Elon Musk's, Walter Villadei, Angelo Landolfi, Pantaleone, Colin Bennett, Michael Masucci, Nicola Pecile, Branson, Bezos, Shepard rocketship, Jose Luis Gonzalez, Steve Gorman, Will Dunham Organizations: Virgin Galactic, National Research Council, Italy, Virgin Galactic Holding Inc, Virgin, Elon Musk's SpaceX, Italian Air Force, VSS Unity, International Space, Air Force, America, Unity, NASA, U.S . Air Force, Thomson Locations: New Mexico, Italy, British, Italian, Los Angeles

Virgin Galactic leases part of the facility. The flight marked a long-delayed breakthrough for Virgin Galactic Holding Inc (SPCE.N), finally inaugurating commercial service after nearly 20 years of fraught by development setbacks. Rounding out the crew was their Virgin Galactic trainer, Colin Bennett, the company's lead "astronaut instructor," and Unity's two pilots, Michael Masucci and Nicola Pecile. Virgin Galactic said Unity topped out its flight at an altitude of nearly 52.9 miles (85.1 km). An earlier prototype of the Virgin Galactic rocket plane crashed during a test flight over California's Mojave Desert in 2014, killing one pilot and seriously injuring another.

Persons: Richard Branson, Joe, Branson, Burt Rutan, Jeff Bezos's, Elon Musk's, Walter Villadei, Angelo Landolfi, Pantaleone, Colin Bennett, Michael Masucci, Nicola Pecile, Bezos, Shepard rocketship, Jose Luis Gonzalez, Steve Gorman, Will Dunham, Nick Zieminski Organizations: Virgin, REUTERS, Virgin Galactic, National Research Council, VSS Unity, America, Galactic, Virgin Galactic Holding Inc, . Virgin, Elon Musk's SpaceX, Italian Air Force, International Space, Air Force, Unity, NASA, U.S . Air Force, Thomson Locations: New Mexico, U.S, Italy, Mexico, Italian, Los Angeles

Virgin Galactic leases part of the facility. The flight marked a long-delayed breakthrough for Virgin Galactic Holding Inc (SPCE.N), finally inaugurating commercial service after nearly 20 years fraught by development setbacks. Virgin Galactic said Unity topped out its flight at an altitude of nearly 52.9 miles (85.1 km). A final crewed test flight to space was conducted with little fanfare five weeks ago. An earlier prototype of the Virgin Galactic rocket plane crashed during a test flight over California's Mojave Desert in 2014, killing one pilot and seriously injuring another.

☆ Virgin Galactic launches first paying customers to the edge of space
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Virgin Galactic, the venture founded by British billionaire Richard Branson, successfully launched its first paying customers to the edge of space — a milestone two decades in the making. (Future Virgin Galactic flights, however, are expected to include a range of high-profile customers.) Bennett’s role was to assess the comfort and function of the flight, using that information to inform future changes Virgin Galactic might make to its rocket-powered space plane, VSS Unity. Organizations such as NASA have routinely flown experiments on suborbital rockets, including Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin missions. In a tragic 2014 accident, Virgin Galactic’s space plane broke apart during flight, killing the mission’s copilot, Michael Alsbury.

Persons: Richard Branson, Virgin Galactic’s, Jeff Bezos’s, Walter Villadei, Angelo Landolfi, Colin Bennett, Pantaleone, Branson, Burt Rutan, Paul Allen, Hamish Harding, Michael Alsbury, — Organizations: CNN, Virgin Galactic, Italian Air Force, Virgin, SpaceX, Italy’s National Research Council, Branson, VSS, VSS Unity, NASA, International, National Research Council, Microsoft, Galactic, OceanGate, Scaled Composites, Origin, Congress, Federal Aviation Administration, FAA Locations: British, New Mexico, United States

☆ Live updates: Virgin Galactic completes first commercial spaceflight
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Michael Sheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

People react as the passenger rocket plane operated by Virgin Galactic takes off, during the company's first commercial flight to the edge of space, at the Spaceport America facility, in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, U.S., June 29, 2023. Space tourism company Virgin Galactic , founded by Sir Richard Branson in 2004, completed its long-awaited first commercial spaceflight, called "Galactic 01," on Thursday. The three paying passengers are members of the Italian Air Force. Virgin Galactic's start to commercial service comes after years of delays and setbacks. Virgin Galactic has a backlog of about 800 passengers.

Persons: Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Galactic's Organizations: Virgin Galactic, America, Space, Italian Air Force, Virgin, VSS Unity Locations: New Mexico, U.S

The flight, dubbed Galactic 01, comes two years after Branson himself rode along with five other Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc (SPCE.N) personnel for the company's first fully crewed test spaceflight of its rocket plane, VSS Unity. Back then, Virgin Galactic officials said they expected to begin regular commercial operations in 2022 following additional test flights. Virgin Galactic had projected booking its first 1,000 paying customers, charging about $250,000 per seat, by the time commercial service opened. An earlier prototype of Virgin Galactic's rocket plane crashed during a test flight over California's Mojave Desert in 2014, killing one pilot and seriously injuring another. Billionaire rival Jeff Bezos, whose astro-tourist venture Blue Origin has already flown several commercial passenger flights, has disparaged Virgin Galactic as falling short of a true spaceflight experience.

Persons: Richard Branson, Joe Skipper, Branson, Walter Villadei, Angelo Landolfi, Pantaleone, Colin Bennett, Michael Masucci, Nicola Pecile, Branson's, Jeff Bezos, Virgin, Shepard rocketship, Jose Luis Gonzalez, Steve Gorman, Will Dunham Organizations: Virgin, Unity, REUTERS, Virgin Galactic, National Research Council, Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc, VSS, Galactic, SpaceX, Origin, Italian Air Force, International Space, Air Force, . Air Force, America, Corporate, NASA, U.S . Air Force, Thomson Locations: New Mexico, U.S, Italy, Mexico, Italian, Branson, Bezos, Los Angeles

☆ Virgin Galactic plans first commercial space service for June; shares take off
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 15 (Reuters) - Virgin Galactic Holdings (SPCE.N), the space tourism firm founded by Richard Branson, said on Thursday its long-awaited commercial spaceflight service would launch later this month, sending its shares up over 55% in trading after the bell. The first spaceflight, called "Galactic 01", is planned between June 27 and June 30, the company said. Shares of Virgin Galactic had lost over two-thirds of their value last year due to delays in the company's launch of commercial service. But in February, it said it had completed a lengthy upgrade period for its centerpiece tourist spacecraft, clearing the path for its first commercial spaceflight. The first commercial mission will carry three crew members from the Italian Air Force and the National Research Council of Italy to conduct microgravity research, Virgin Galactic said.

Persons: Richard Branson, Chavi Mehta, Pooja Desai, Krishna Chandra Organizations: Virgin Galactic Holdings, Virgin Galactic, VSS Unity, Italian Air Force, National Research Council, Thomson Locations: Italy, Bengaluru

☆ Virgin Galactic surges 47% as Richard Branson's space tourism company preps first commercial flight
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Max Adams | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Shares of Virgin Galactic soared on Friday on news the company was readying commercial flights. After years of delays, the first flight will take place on June 27, with another scheduled for August. The stock spiked 47% Friday, but is still trading far below highs reached in 2021. Billionaire Richard Branson's space company announced that the first flight, dubbed Galactic 01, is scheduled between June 27 and June 30. Virgin Galactic is trading far below highs reached in 2021, when the stock was trading at nearly $60 per share.

Persons: —, Richard Branson's, Branson, Virgin Galactic's Organizations: Virgin Galactic, Service, Wall Street, Galactic, Virgin Locations: Thursday's

☆ Virgin Galactic to launch commercial space tourism service with late June flight
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Spacecraft VSS Unity fires its engine during the Unity 25 spaceflight, May 25, 2023. Virgin Galactic aims to launch its commercial space tourism service in late June. Virgin Galactic then plans for its second commercial flight to follow in "early August," with "monthly" commercial flights after that. The June launch will also begin moving Virgin Galactic toward showing it can fly commercial flights regularly, which is crucial to its long-term success. "We are launching the first commercial spaceline for Earth with two dynamic products — our scientific research and private astronaut space missions," Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier said in a statement.

Persons: Virgin Galactic's, Richard Branson, Michael Colglazier Organizations: VSS Unity, Virgin Galactic, Italian Air Force, VSS, Virgin

☆ A 'tinderbox' with no easy off-ramps: What the Sudan conflict means for the world
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

Smoke rises during clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Khartoum, Sudan on April 19, 2023. "We urge the Sudanese army to respect the ceasefire and its conditions to alleviate the suffering of innocent civilians. - | Afp | Getty ImagesNotorious Russian mercenary force Wagner Group has been linked to various commercial and military operations in Sudan. Italian citizens are boarded on an Italian Air Force C130 aircraft during their evacuation from Khartoum, Sudan, in this undated photo obtained by Reuters on April 24, 2023. "The RSF is likely to target oil infrastructure linking South Sudan with Khartoum and the export terminal at Port Sudan," Verisk Maplecroft's Hunter suggested.

☆ Factbox: What is the MQ-9 Reaper drone that collided with a Russian jet?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Below is a description of the MQ-9 "Reaper" drone based on information from the Air Force and its maker, General Atomics. The Reaper, which was delivered to the Air Force 16 years ago, can also be equipped with weapons such as air-to-ground missiles. MQ-9s have also been purchased by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, NASA, UK Royal Air Force, the Italian Air Force, the French Air Force and the Spanish Air Force. According to the Air Force, for $56.5 million they can purchase four MQ-9 aircraft with sensors, ground control station and a satellite link. General Atomics says the MQ-9 has "demonstrated an air-to-air weapons capability" in Air Force tests.

☆ Virgin Galactic finishes lengthy spacecraft upgrades, plans Q2 commercial service
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Joe SkipperWASHINGTON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc (SPCE.N) has completed a lengthy upgrade period for its centerpiece tourist spacecraft, with commercial service on track to begin in the second quarter of 2023, the company said on Tuesday. This month, VSS Unity's twin-fuselage carrier plane VMS Eve made its first flight since 2021. Virgin Galactic is targeting monthly commercial missions after the Italian Air Force flight, a long-awaited cadence to handle the company's some 800 customers in line to fly. The company in February re-opened ticket sales to the public for spacecraft flights, setting prices at $450,000 per person with an initial deposit of $150,000. Each flight in space, over 50 miles (80 km) above ground, lasts roughly 10 minutes in microgravity, with VSS Unity launching mid-air from the center of its VMS Eve carrier plane.

☆ Virgin Galactic completes lengthy upgrade process ahead of resuming spaceflights
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Michael Sheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

An aerial view of carrier aircraft VMS Eve, left, and spacecraft VSS Unity, at Spaceport America in New Mexico on Feb. 27, 2023. Virgin Galactic said on Tuesday it remains on track to resume spaceflights in the coming months after completing upgrades to its carrier aircraft and spacecraft. During that period Virgin Galactic conducted a variety of repairs and enhancements to its jet-powered mothership, called VMS Eve. Then Virgin Galactic will conduct glide tests, where VMS Eve carries the spacecraft and releases it, before a test spaceflight with a full company crew onboard. Shares of Virgin Galactic are up about 65% this year as of Tuesday's close of $5.74 per share.

☆ Virgin Galactic CEO outlines remaining steps before commercial spaceflight service begins next year
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Michael Sheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Virgin Galactic on Thursday reported a wider third-quarter loss from a year ago, with CEO Michael Colglazier outlining the remaining steps before the space tourism company aims to launch its long-delayed service next year. "As we approach commercial service, we recognize the significance of getting back to the business of spaceflight," Colglazier said on a conference call. Shares of Virgin Galactic are down 66% this year as of Thursday's close of $4.58. Virgin Galactic is emphasizing the potential of its "Delta-class" series of spacecraft, with work set to begin next year. "We are reassessing its schedule for entering commercial service," Colglazier said.

☆ With Russia lurking on NATO's southern flank, Italy is working on new jets and new carriers to keep an eye on things
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Protecting NATO's southern flankAn Italian soldier stands guard at NATO's Joint Force Command in Naples in March 2011. MARIO LAPORTA/AFP via Getty ImagesWhile often overshadowed by Europe's other major military powers, Italy is an important part of NATO's defense posture. Russian navy ship Veliky Ustyug at Russia's base in Tartus, Syria in September 2019. US Navy/MCS3 Crayton AgnewItaly's air force and navy both operate the F-35B, the short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing version of the F-35. Italian navy and air force F-35s have already operated together aboard Cavour.

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