AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Trading Down 1.6% - Here's What Happened

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 1.6% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $23.81 and last traded at $24.03. Approximately 2,532,483 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 12,493,931 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.41.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASTS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group upped their price objective on AST SpaceMobile from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Monday, May 5th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Roth Capital assumed coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $42.00 price target for the company. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price target on AST SpaceMobile from $47.90 to $45.40 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.40.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Down 0.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of $7.84 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.69 and a beta of 2.05. The company has a quick ratio of 5.80, a current ratio of 5.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.57.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.17) by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $0.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.85 million. On average, equities analysts expect that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AST SpaceMobile

In related news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 55,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total value of $1,475,100.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Julio A. Torres sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.73, for a total transaction of $614,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 52,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,617,258.44. The trade was a 27.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 34.15% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of AST SpaceMobile

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the first quarter valued at about $168,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the first quarter valued at approximately $900,000. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 36.2% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 84,069 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,912,000 after acquiring an additional 22,358 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 18.1% during 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 worth $7,405,000 after purchasing an additional 49,811 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optimize Financial Inc boosted its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 15.9% in the 1st quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 41,484 shares of the company's stock worth $943,000 after purchasing an additional 5,676 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.