Wall Street has space on its mind today and VG Acquisition (NASDAQ:VGAC) is benefitting. Although the blank-check company has not identified an acquisition target, hopeful investors and some space-focused news has VGAC stock climbing. So what do you need to know now?
To start, investors should know that what makes SPAC VG Acquisition stand out is its executive team. Importantly, Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, is at its helm. Because of this, and some exciting news from ARK Invest, VGAC stock has been rocketing higher.
With that in mind, here is what you need to know about VG Acquisition and VGAC Stock now:
- VG Acquisition came public in October 2020.
- At the time, the blank-check company raised $480 million by offering 48 million units at $10 each.
- Investors should note that Josh Bayliss and Evan Lovell, the CEO and CIO of Virgin Group, are responsible for managing VG Acquisition.
- Together they are targeting businesses in consumer-facing industries in Europe or the U.S.
- Additionally, VG Acquisition has said it wants to focus on areas Virgin Group already has found success.
- For unfamiliar investors, Virgin Group and its business activities date back to the 1970s.
- Under the leadership of Branson, Virgin Group has moved into a wide variety of businesses.
- It currently has its hands in Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Balloon Flights, Virgin Hotel, Virgin Mobile, Virgin Voyages, Virgin Radio and so many more.
- Importantly, Virgin Group and Branson are also responsible for commercial space flight operator Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE).
- SPCE stock came public in 2019 through Social Capital Hedosophia, the first blank-check company of Chamath Palihapitiya.
- Branson is also responsible for Virgin Orbit, a company that plans to provide launch services for small satellites.
- Virgin Orbit is aiming to launch its next test flight on Sunday, Jan. 17.
VGAC Stock and the ARKX ETF News
There is no denying that Branson and his Virgin Group touch a variety of successful and otherwise high-profile businesses. Plus, through companies like Virgin Galactic and Virgin Orbit, Branson touches several next-generation themes. Because of his relationship to VG Acquisition, many investors are likely hopeful that the target company complements his innovative portfolio.
And in fact, that is where the move today in VGAC stock came in. Cathie Wood of ARK Invest announced that her firm was launching a new Space Exploration exchange-traded fund. Soon to trade as ARKX, the new fund has turned up the notch on potential fund constituents. For instance, SPCE stock has notched double-digit gains today because it is a pure play on space exploration. Maxar Technologies (NYSE:MAXR) has done the same. And for a less obvious reason, VGAC stock is also rocketing higher on the Ark Invest ARKX ETF news.
Essentially, many investors are hopeful that Branson will use this SPAC to bring another space-related company public. One guess? Virgin Orbit. On social media, many posters used the ARKX news as a launching point for the potential Virgin Orbit SPAC merger. If VG Acquisition does in fact bring the satellite services company public, it would be another clear fit in the ARKX ETF.
So what should you do? Well, without any confirmation of such a SPAC merger and without a ton of deals on the new ETF, it is important to proceed with caution. However, given the backing of Virgin Group, VGAC stock should be on your radar anyways.
On the date of publication, Sarah Smith did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
Sarah Smith is a Web Content Producer with InvestorPlace.com.
