Virgin Galactic tumbles as billionaire chairman Chamath Palihapitya sells $211 million stake

• Virgin Galactic stock fell as much as 21% Friday after chairman Chamath Palihapitya sold his personal stake.
• Palihapitya netted $211 million after selling 6.2 million shares.
• The billionaire executive still holds an indirect stake in the space tourism company.

Shares of Virgin Galactic slid by double digits Friday after billionaire chairman Chamath Palihapitiya sold his personal stake in the space-tourism company for $211 million.

Palihapitiya cashed out 6.2 million shares at an average price of $35, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Virgin Galactic shares dropped as much as 21% as they hit $23.94. The stock went on to pare the loss to 13% in active trading, with daily volume midday surpassing the average volume of 20.1 million shares.

Palihapitiya, with his business partner Ian Osborne, still indirectly owns 15.8 million shares via their investment vehicle, SCH Sponsor Corp. Palihapitiya in December sold 3.8 million shares in Virgin Galactic. In a tweet, he had said he needed cash to fund several new projects.

Virgin Galactic, founded by billionaire Richard Branson, went public in October 2019 by merging with Palihapitiya and Osborne's Social Capital Hedosophia, a special-purpose acquisition vehicle or SPAC.