AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Shares Down 2.8% - What's Next?

Key Points

• AST SpaceMobile shares fell about 2.8% to $69.85 on Wednesday, trading below both the 50‑day ($87.39) and 200‑day ($83.66) moving averages on slightly below‑average volume.
• Analysts are mixed—two Buy, six Hold and three Sell—resulting in an average MarketBeat rating of Reduce and an average price target of $82.51, with individual targets ranging roughly from $45.60 to $117.
• Significant insider selling occurred recently: major shareholder Hiroshi Mikitani sold 1.69M shares for about $154.5M and insiders sold a total of 3.08M shares (~$274M) last quarter, though insiders still own ~30.9% of the stock.

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 2.8% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $67.49 and last traded at $69.85. 14,773,101 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 4% from the average session volume of 15,442,768 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.88.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $117.00 price objective on AST SpaceMobile in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. UBS Group boosted their target price on AST SpaceMobile from $43.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Zacks Research upgraded AST SpaceMobile from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered AST SpaceMobile from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered AST SpaceMobile from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector underperform" rating and set a $45.60 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AST SpaceMobile currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $82.51.

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 16.27 and a current ratio of 16.35. The company has a 50-day moving average of $87.39 and a 200-day moving average of $83.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -52.92 and a beta of 2.81.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 2nd. The company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by ($0.08). AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 482.16% and a negative return on equity of 23.02%. The business had revenue of $54.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.53 million. The company's revenue was up 2731.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AST SpaceMobile

In related news, major shareholder Hiroshi Mikitani sold 1,690,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.42, for a total value of $154,499,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 29,330,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,681,362,770.10. The trade was a 5.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.88, for a total value of $3,555,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 4,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at $422,180. This represents a 89.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 3,080,000 shares of company stock valued at $274,452,000 over the last quarter. 30.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in AST SpaceMobile by 11.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 34,548 shares of the company's stock worth $786,000 after acquiring an additional 3,642 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in AST SpaceMobile by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 79,764 shares of the company's stock worth $1,814,000 after acquiring an additional 3,515 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in AST SpaceMobile by 16.1% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 467,626 shares of the company's stock worth $10,634,000 after acquiring an additional 64,989 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in AST SpaceMobile by 18.1% during the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 49,811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the 1st quarter worth approximately $168,000. 60.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About AST SpaceMobile

AST SpaceMobile is a U.S.-based aerospace company developing a space-based cellular broadband network designed to connect standard mobile phones and other devices directly to satellites. The company's core proposition is “space-to-cell” service: operating a constellation of low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites equipped with large, high-power phased-array antennas to provide wide-area mobile broadband without requiring users to buy specialized terminals or handset modifications.

AST SpaceMobile designs, builds and operates satellite payloads and supporting ground infrastructure.

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