AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Shares Down 1.1% Following Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• AST SpaceMobile's shares dropped by 1.1% after Scotiabank cut its price target from $45.40 to $42.90, maintaining a sector perform rating on the stock.
• A mix of ratings from various brokerages includes a "neutral" rating from Bank of America and a "buy" rating from B. Riley, indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for the stock.
• Insider selling was noted with CTO Huiwen Yao and COO Shanti B. Gupta both offloading significant shares, contributing to over 184,250 shares sold in the last 90 days.

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 1.1% during mid-day trading on Friday after Scotiabank lowered their price target on the stock from $45.40 to $42.90. Scotiabank currently has a sector perform rating on the stock. AST SpaceMobile traded as low as $46.30 and last traded at $47.21. 3,100,079 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 11,989,723 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.71.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on ASTS. Roth Capital began coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $42.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer began coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $44.00 price target (up previously from $36.00) on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $44.99.

Insider Activity at AST SpaceMobile

In other AST SpaceMobile news, President Scott Wisniewski sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The shares were 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 owned 545,595 shares in the company, valued at $19,450,461.75. This trade represents a 8.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 4,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.60, for a total transaction of $147,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 20,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $717,950. This represents a 17.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 184,250 shares of company stock worth $6,146,750. Company insiders own 34.15% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rakuten Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the first quarter valued at approximately $705,398,000. Alphabet Inc. acquired a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the 1st quarter worth $203,375,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter worth about $59,523,000. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 1,992.5% in the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 843,554 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,182,000 after buying an additional 803,240 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 1st quarter valued at $14,750,000. Institutional investors own 60.95% of the company's stock.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Down 1.5%

The firm's fifty day moving average price is $46.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.64. The company has a market cap of $14.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.08 and a beta of 2.33. The company has a current ratio of 10.62, a quick ratio of 10.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.19) by ($0.22). AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 7,033.22% and a negative return on equity of 23.56%. Sell-side analysts predict that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current year.

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.