Virgin Galactic's stock initially jumped on Tuesday as speculative trading in the space tourism company continued, with its quarterly results coming after the market closes.

Shares of Virgin Galactic climbed as much as 8% in early trading but ended the day slightly negative. The stock is near record high levels, as it soared above $40 a share last week after a extraordinary rally. Virgin Galactic has become Wall Street's favorite speculative investment, surging in popularity on trading platforms past even the likes of Apple and Tesla.

Shares even gained 1% on Monday in a stunning comeback as the broader market plunged.

The average amount of Virgin Galactic shares changing hands each day continues to push higher, with trading volume surging in the past two weeks. Speculative trading in a stock like this is characteristic of a "late cycle" market, when investors look for stocks that will continue outperform after a bull market has run for years.

Virgin Galactic's stock is up more than 200% since the beginning of the year. The company's market value has risen to more than $6.8 billion, multiplied several times over since its October debut on the New York Stock Exchange.