It's been a strong week on Wall Street, as investors overcame lingering concerns from the Federal Reserve and have gained confidence in the economy's ability to withstand considerable pressures. After big gains earlier in the week, stock index futures showed another likely advance at the beginning of trading Friday morning.
A broader array of stocks are now participating in the rally, and at the luxury end of the consumer spectrum, Virgin Galactic (SPCE 5.64%) got a boost as it now appears ready to begin its commercial space flight schedule. Meanwhile, given how much attention more advanced artificial intelligence (AI) stocks have gotten lately, the much more down-to-earth applications that iRobot (IRBT +0.00%) helped pioneer might seem quaint, but shareholders got good news that sent the stock price higher. Read on to see more about what's happening with these two companies.
Space bound once again
Shares of Virgin Galactic were up more than 40% in premarket trading on Friday. The space flight company has given investors and customers a long wait, but it now appears that it will open the doors and start its schedule of commercial operations within the next two weeks.
Virgin Galactic announced that it had set a flight window of June 27 to June 30 for its debut Galactic 01 commercial space mission. The follow-up Galactic 02 should come early in August, and Virgin Galactic set expectations for monthly space flights after those two launches. The move came after the most recent Unity 25 test flight went well, with routine analysis and inspections passing the test.
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Galactic 01 won't have any space tourists, however. The mission is for scientific research, with three crew members from Italy's air force and national research council conducting experiments with microgravity. Virgin Galactic hopes that the demonstration will show the value of its platform for scientists in both the public and private sectors.
Private passengers will get their first chance to head into space on Galactic 02, assuming all goes well with the first launch. Yet shareholders shouldn't assume that the beginning of commercial operations marks an all-clear for Virgin Galactic as an investment, as even after it starts to recognize revenue from space tourism, it'll still be a challenge to keep enough cash coming in.
Sucking it up
Elsewhere, shares of iRobot jumped 19% in the premarket session. The maker of autonomous vacuum cleaners and other products got a key approval in its efforts to join forces with a potential giant in the AI space.
Amazon announced last August that it had entered into an agreement to acquire iRobot for $1.7 billion. The deal as announced would give iRobot shareholders $61 per share in cash for their stock. However, iRobot stock steadily lost ground as it became clear that regulatory agencies in various jurisdictions across the globe would take a look at the acquisition with a critical eye.
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On Friday, however, U.K. antitrust regulators said that it would not go beyond its initial investigation into the merger. The Competition and Markets Authority believes that Amazon's purchase of iRobot won't have any substantial impact in reducing competition within the U.K. market.
The U.S. and the European Union still have regulatory examinations ongoing, so even with today's gain, iRobot stock remains well below that $61 buyout price. Nevertheless, Amazon and iRobot are optimistic that their inquiries will produce similar results, and that could produce further increases for the share price in the near future.
