AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Shares Gap Down - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• AST SpaceMobile's shares opened at $56.25 after a gap down from a previous close of $60.06, with a last trading price of $55.76.
• Analysts have varying opinions on AST SpaceMobile, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $45.34.
• The company reported a negative earnings per share (EPS) of ($0.20), missing analysts' expectations and generating only $0.72 million in revenue for the quarter.
• Insider trading activity shows that key executives sold shares recently, with a total of 184,250 shares sold over the last 90 days.

Shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $60.06, but opened at $56.25. AST SpaceMobile shares last traded at $55.76, with a volume of 6,858,845 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASTS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.40 price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. 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. B. Riley restated 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, Roth Capital initiated coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $42.00 price objective on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AST SpaceMobile has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $45.34.

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $40.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.40. The firm has a market cap of $17.19 billion, a PE ratio of -27.30 and a beta of 2.27. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.17) by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $0.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.85 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 23.56% and a negative net margin of 7,033.22%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AST SpaceMobile

In other news, President Scott Wisniewski sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.65, for a total transaction of $1,782,500.00. Following the sale, the president owned 545,595 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,450,461.75. The trade was a 8.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 4,250 shares of AST SpaceMobile 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 transaction, the chief technology officer owned 20,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at $717,950. This represents a 17.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 184,250 shares of company stock valued at $6,146,750 in the last quarter. 34.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 25.2% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,826 shares of the company's stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,641 shares of the company's stock worth $759,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 61.9% during the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,321 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. waypoint wealth counsel raised its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. waypoint wealth counsel now owns 16,746 shares of the company's stock worth $783,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. raised its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 10,244 shares of the company's stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. 60.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.