AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Stock Price Down 2.4% - Here's Why

Key Points

• AST SpaceMobile's shares fell by 2.4% during trading, closing at $48.83, significantly lower than its previous closing of $50.05.
• Several analysts have mixed views on the stock with UBS Group raising its price target to $62.00, while Scotiabank cut its target from $45.40 to $42.90.
• In recent insider activity, the President sold 50,000 shares worth about $1.78 million, reflecting a decline in ownership of 8.39% by company executives.

Shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) dropped 2.4% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $48.97 and last traded at $48.83. Approximately 4,180,804 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 11,993,973 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.05.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASTS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. B. Riley restated a "buy" rating and set a $44.00 target price (up from $36.00) on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Monday, May 5th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Bank of America initiated coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank dropped their target price on AST SpaceMobile from $45.40 to $42.90 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $48.41.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Down 0.9%

The firm has a market cap of $15.22 billion, a PE ratio of -25.44 and a beta of 2.33. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 10.62 and a current ratio of 8.23.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.19) by ($0.22). The business had revenue of $1.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 26.81% and a negative net margin of 7,213.90%. Analysts expect that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 4,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.60, for a total value of $147,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 20,750 shares in the company, valued at $717,950. This represents a 17.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, President Scott Wisniewski sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.65, for a total value of $1,782,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 545,595 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,450,461.75. This trade represents a 8.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 129,250 shares of company stock worth $4,671,650 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 34.15% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Alphabet Inc. purchased a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the first quarter worth approximately $203,375,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 25.2% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 117,822 shares of the company's stock worth $2,486,000 after buying an additional 23,746 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 117.5% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 51,874 shares of the company's stock worth $1,095,000 after buying an additional 28,025 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank purchased a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the fourth quarter worth $4,220,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the fourth quarter worth $3,264,000. 60.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.