Can you buy Virgin Airlines stock? With a net worth of $4.2 billion dollars, all self-made, Sir Richard Branson got his start in the mail-order record business over 50 years ago. It’s certainly worth a deep dive with all the issues affecting airlines! He owes his fortune to several companies bearing the “Virgin” name, including Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Galactic. There’s no doubt about it, Branson is wildly successful, which is why many investors want to buy Virgin Airlines stock.
Can You Buy Virgin Airlines Stock?
- Virgin Airlines has filed for bankruptcy as of 2020. AS a result, it’s a good thing you can’t buy Virgin Airlines stock. However, with the way 2020 has gone, it’s not surprise an airline company couldn’t make it.
The Making of Virgin: Why Fly in Someone Else’s Plane When You Can Buy Your Own?
Thirty-six years ago, Richard Branson was hot, sweaty and stuck on a hot tarmac trying to get out of Puerto Rico for the British Virgin Islands.
Needless to say, he was over it. With his flight grounded and missing his girlfriend, he decided to take matters into his own hands. What would any so-called “sensible” person do in this situation? In my case, I would resign myself to a lifetime of being stuck on a plane, order another drink and wait. Not that creative of me, is it?
For those of you who are nodding in agreement (you know who you are), Branson would put us to shame. In the true entrepreneurial spirit, he literally figured out how much it would cost to charter a plane to the Virgin Islands.
Armed with that information, he went with it. Branson acquired a chalkboard, crunched the numbers and wrote, “$39 one way each to BVI.”
And that my friend was Virgin Atlantic’s very first flight. After his success, he decided to call Boeing to ask if he could buy a secondhand 747. Sure, why not?
Boeing asked which company he was with. The quick thinker Branson, having already founded Virgin Records, simply replied, “Virgin.”
And just like there’s no Yahoo stock, there’s also no Virgin Airlines stock to trade.
How to Buy Virgin Airlines Stock
For those of you looking to ride on the coattails of Sir Richard Branson and buy Virgin Airlines stock, unfortunately, your wings are clipped. Virgin airlines is not a publically traded company.
Now if you want to find the best penny stocks to buy, that’s something we can help you with.
Since you can’t buy Virgin Airlines stock, you can now buy stock in Space Tourism Company Virgin Galactic. Founded in 2004 by Richard Branson, space tourism company Virgin Galactic’s primary goal is to send people to space in its SpaceShipTwo spacecraft.
Furthermore, they are hoping to provide suborbital launches for space science missions. The company took an unusual path to become a publicly-traded company. Rather than a traditional IPO or a direct listing, it instead merged with publicly traded Social Capital Hedosophia, which took a 49% stake in the merged company.
As of recently, Virgin Galactic has gained the attention of medial outlets around the world. Just last year, Virgin Galactic managed to carry out a test flight of three people successfully. Beyond even that, they conducted another test flight for sub-orbital flights, Spaceport America.
More importantly, they recently announced a partnership with NASA in which private astronauts and space tourists can travel around the International Space Station (ISS). If you’re interested and have somewhere in the vicinity of $250,000 in the bank, you can book a seat!
Is Virgin Galactic Experiencing Turbulence?
It’s proven to be a bumpy ride for Virgin Galactic. Branson’s publicly traded space tourism arm has seen its shares slump since its mid-February high of $37.26 on the NYSE.
In anticipation of their July 27th cabin unveiling, rumors swirled that the unveiling would be a potential price catalyst for Virgin Galactic stock.
Unfortunately, the images showed were of artist renderings, not the actual cabin. To make matters worse, Virgin hinted that the commercial flights might be further away than anticipated. With that disappointment,
Virgin Galactic stock fell after the cabin unveiling. Because you can’t buy trade Virgin Airlines stock, you need to decide if you want to buy shares in Virgin Galactic.
Keep in mind; there are stocks you invest in for income, stocks you invest in for capital appreciation and stocks you trade. Know your end goals before you buy.
Is Virgin Airlines Publicly Traded?
- Can you buy Virgin Airlines stock? The short answer is no. Virgin Airlines is not a publically traded company. However, they were bought out by Alaska Airlines in 2018. And you can buy stock in Alaska Airlines $ALK. If you want to trade $ALK, make sure you trade the stock with confidence.
Have You Heard of the Asymmetric Risk/Reward Principle?
Before you rush in to buy stock in any company, Virgin Galactic included, we must talk risk…
Most people tell you if you want to win big, you need to risk big. Or even worse yet, to achieve financial freedom, you have to risk your freedom. Wrong and wrong. Let me introduce you to the concept of asymmetric risk/reward.
The best investors and traders don’t fall for this fallacy. Instead, they hunt for trades that offer what they call asymmetric risk/reward. It’s a fancy way of saying that the returns should vastly outweigh the risks.
Put simply, successful traders always seek to risk as little as possible to make as much as possible. That’s the stock traders equivalent of nirvana.
What does this look like in real life? Paul Tudor Jones uses the “five-to-one” rule to guide all of his investment decisions. It doesn’t matter if he’s talking about $1 or $1 million dollars if he’s risking $1, he’s expecting to make $5.
With this 5:1 ratio, it allows you a success rate of 20%. In other words, he can be wrong 80% of the time and still be ahead.
How in the heck is that possible? Let me show you! Let’s say Paul makes five real estate investments, each costing him $1 million dollars for a total spend of $5 million.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, four of them go to zero, and he loses $4 million. Ouch! But, his fifth property hits a home run and makes him $5 million. With that, he earned back his entire $5 million investment.
Now, let’s be clear: five-to-one isn’t easily achieved. In some cases, the ration is 3:1. The bigger point is, he’s always looking for limited downside risk with a huge upside. Unfortunetly, you can’t try it Virgin Airlines stock.
Managing Risk: A Lesson From Sir Richard Branson Himself
I’ll give you a classic example of someone obsessed with the asymmetric risk/reward principle: Sir Richard Branson. As someone with a reputation as the ultimate risk-taker (he does have a dangerous passion for putting his life on the line), you’d think he’s quite the wild child. Quite the opposite.
Before launching Virgin Airlines in 1984, Richard spent a whole year negotiating an unfathomable deal. If the business didn’t pan out, he could return the planes at no cost.
You’re probably thinking ya right, I’m serious, it’s true! This deal left him with minimal downside and limitless upside.
According to Branson, “I think it looks like entrepreneurs have a high tolerance for risk. But one of the most important phrases in my life is ‘Protect the downside.'”
Every step in life has some type of risk and reward attached to it. But what’s important is you understand what the risk is and also understand what the reward is.
In the stock trading world, the math doesn’t lie. Now, forgive me if I’m harsh, but you should never enter into a trade, Virgin Airlines stock or otherwise unless you understand what you’re risking.
The Bottom Line on Virgin Airlines Stock
Branson proves it’s all about identifying the flaws or gaping holes in the industry, even if inspiration strikes when grounded on a Puerto Rico tarmac. We hoped this post about Virgin Airline stock inspired you to make some changes in your life.
If you’ve been thinking about trading but unsure where to start, click here to join. We have a fabulous community that makes trading fun.
We will take you and your stock trading profits to an all-new level. Perhaps even high enough to afford a seat to space!
