What happened Investors in space tourism pioneer Virgin Galactic (NYSE: SPCE) are not having a great day -- the stock was down by 8.3% as of 3:30 p.m. EST. And no, it was not just because everything tech-stocky seemed to be selling off Thursday. Rather, it looks like Virgin Galactic shot itself in the foot. Image source: Getty Images. So what Thursday morning, with Virgin Galactic due to deliver its Q4 earnings (aka its Q4 losses) after the close of trading, it announced that Chief Financial Officer Jon Campagna is stepping down from his post. He's being replaced by Doug Ahrens, previously the CFO of tech hardware company Mellanox. Now, Virgin Galactic doesn't consider this bad news. In its statement, management implied that Campagna had really only planned to stick around through its "successful transition from private to public company" and, this accomplished, it was time for him to move on. Additionally, CEO Michael Colglazier heaped praise on Campagna's replacement, saying Ahrend's "deep experience helping global manufacturing companies scale and grow, combined with his tremendous capital markets and M&A expertise, will be incredibly valuable as we expand our production capabilities and work to monetize the business." That being said, springing a C-level executive change on the market just hours before earnings seems like curious timing -- and investors don't seem to like the implications. Now what Are they right to worry? Well, Thursday afternoon's earnings news could certainly prove me wrong but -- no, I don't think so. Virgin Galactic has a relatively new CEO in Colglazier. It hired a new "experience architect" earlier this week, and a new investor relations chief two weeks ago -- and it's lining up two final test flights before beginning commercial operations. If you ask me, all that's really happening here is that Colglazier is assembling the team of executives he wants to run the company as it begins transitioning from essentially an R&D shop into an operational space tourism company. The timing of this latest announcement may seem strange, but if it's all part of a bigger plan to get Virgin Galactic ready for prime time, I expect things will still work out fine for this company in the end. 10 stocks we like better than Virgin Galactic Holdings IncWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of February 24, 2021 Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source