AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.22 EPS

Key Points

• AST SpaceMobile reported a quarterly loss of ($0.41) EPS, missing the consensus estimate by ($0.22).
• The company's stock traded down to $45.92 on the release of its earnings results, with a negative net margin of 7,033.22%.
• Despite the earnings miss, research analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price averaging $44.99.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by ($0.22), Zacks reports. AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 7,033.22% and a negative return on equity of 23.56%.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Performance

AST SpaceMobile stock traded down $0.71 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $45.92. 8,891,917 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,596,709. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 10.62 and a current ratio of 10.62. The business has a fifty day moving average of $46.33 and a 200 day moving average of $32.64. AST SpaceMobile has a 1-year low of $17.50 and a 1-year high of $60.95.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. B. Riley restated a "buy" rating and issued a $44.00 target price (up from $36.00) on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Monday, May 5th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Scotiabank cut their target price on AST SpaceMobile from $45.40 to $42.90 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.99.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AST SpaceMobile news, President Scott Wisniewski sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.65, for a total transaction of $1,782,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 545,595 shares in the company, valued at $19,450,461.75. This represents a 8.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Shanti B. Gupta sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.08, for a total value of $541,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 315,667 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,389,265.36. This trade represents a 4.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 184,250 shares of company stock worth $6,146,750 over the last three months. 41.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of AST SpaceMobile

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the first quarter valued at $168,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 11.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 34,548 shares of the company's stock valued at $786,000 after buying an additional 3,642 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 79,764 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,814,000 after buying an additional 3,515 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 18.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 325,621 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,405,000 after buying an additional 49,811 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 16.1% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 467,626 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,634,000 after buying an additional 64,989 shares in the last quarter. 60.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About AST SpaceMobile

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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