AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Lowered to Strong Sell Rating by Zacks Research

Key Points

• AST SpaceMobile has been downgraded from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating by Zacks Research, reflecting negative outlook changes among equity analysts.
• The company's stock fell by 9.2%, with an average target price of $45.27 amidst a range of ratings assigned by analysts.
• Financial performance remains poor, with AST SpaceMobile reporting a loss of ($0.41) earnings per share, significantly missing analyst expectations.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

ASTS has been the subject of several other reports. Scotiabank downgraded AST SpaceMobile from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector underperform" rating and set a $42.90 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Bank of America initiated coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group lowered AST SpaceMobile from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $62.00 to $43.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. William Blair initiated coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a report on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays lowered AST SpaceMobile from an "overweight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $60.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, October 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AST SpaceMobile has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $45.27.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Down 9.2%

AST SpaceMobile stock opened at $71.35 on Tuesday. AST SpaceMobile has a fifty-two week low of $17.50 and a fifty-two week high of $102.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 8.23 and a current ratio of 8.23. The company has a market capitalization of $25.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -37.75 and a beta of 2.41. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.45.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $1.16 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.37 million. Equities research analysts expect that AST SpaceMobile will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.58, for a total value of $1,623,200.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 4,750 shares in the company, valued at $192,755. This represents a 89.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was 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 represents a 4.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 34.15% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 225.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 650 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 43,257 shares of the company's stock worth $2,123,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 35.9% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 3,545 shares of the company's stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 936 shares during the period. Yarbrough Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. Yarbrough Capital LLC now owns 99,372 shares of the company's stock worth $4,877,000 after purchasing an additional 21,739 shares during the period. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 140.9% during the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 11,330 shares of the company's stock worth $556,000 after purchasing an additional 6,626 shares during the period. 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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