AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Given "Sell (D-)" Rating at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• AST SpaceMobile's stock has been given a "sell (D-)" rating by Weiss Ratings, highlighting significant bearish sentiment from investment analysts.
• Multiple research firms, including Zacks and Scotiabank, have downgraded their ratings for AST SpaceMobile, with Scotiabank setting a price objective of $42.90.
• The company reported disappointing quarterly earnings, with an EPS of ($0.41), missing analyst expectations, and a negative net margin of over 7,213%.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "sell (d-)" rating reiterated by investment analysts at Weiss Ratings in a report released on Friday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on ASTS. Zacks Research downgraded shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday. Scotiabank downgraded shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector underperform" rating and set a $42.90 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. William Blair began coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Thursday, August 21st. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Barclays downgraded shares of AST SpaceMobile from an "overweight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $60.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $43.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AST SpaceMobile presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $45.27.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Performance

AST SpaceMobile stock traded up $1.98 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $73.70. The company had a trading volume of 9,225,565 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,289,293. The company has a quick ratio of 8.23, a current ratio of 8.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. AST SpaceMobile has a 52 week low of $17.50 and a 52 week high of $102.79. The company has a 50 day moving average of $57.10 and a 200-day moving average of $43.80. The firm has a market cap of $26.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.99 and a beta of 2.41.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.19) by ($0.22). AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 7,213.90% and a negative return on equity of 26.81%. The company had revenue of $1.16 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AST SpaceMobile will post -0.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AST SpaceMobile

In other AST SpaceMobile news, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.48, for a total value of $1,049,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 397,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,860,012.80. This trade represents a 4.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.58, for a total transaction of $1,623,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 4,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at $192,755. The trade was a 89.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 34.15% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in AST SpaceMobile by 225.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 650 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc acquired a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Chapman Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.95% of the company's stock.

AST SpaceMobile Company Profile

AST SpaceMobile, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops and provides access to a space-based cellular broadband network for smartphones in the United States. Its SpaceMobile service provides cellular broadband services to end-users who are out of terrestrial cellular coverage. The company was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Midland, Texas.

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