AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Shares Down 1.2% Following Insider Selling

Key Points

• AST SpaceMobile shares declined by 1.2% after CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 20,000 shares at an average price of $52.48, reducing his ownership by 4.79%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for AST SpaceMobile, with Scotiabank lowering their price target to $42.90 while UBS raised theirs to $62.00, showing a wide divergence in expectations.
• The company missed quarterly earnings expectations with an EPS of ($0.41) against an estimate of ($0.19) and reported revenue of $1.16 million, significantly below the projected $6.37 million.

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) shares fell 1.2% during trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $48.65 and last traded at $49.84. 1,914,913 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 11,755,383 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.43.

Specifically, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.48, for a total transaction of $1,049,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 397,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,860,012.80. This represents a 4.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ASTS shares. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on AST SpaceMobile from $45.40 to $42.90 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. UBS Group lifted their price target on AST SpaceMobile from $38.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Oppenheimer started coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Monday, May 5th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Roth Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, William Blair started coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $48.41.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Performance

The business's 50-day moving average is $49.70 and its 200 day moving average is $34.73. The company has a market cap of $17.78 billion, a PE ratio of -26.45 and a beta of 2.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 8.23 and a current ratio of 8.23.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by ($0.22). The business had revenue of $1.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 26.81% and a negative net margin of 7,213.90%. On average, equities research analysts predict that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Alphabet Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the first quarter worth $203,375,000. Rakuten Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the first quarter worth $705,398,000. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 117.5% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 51,874 shares of the company's stock worth $1,095,000 after purchasing an additional 28,025 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the fourth quarter worth $4,220,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the first quarter worth $14,750,000. 60.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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