AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $27.16, but opened at $25.90. AST SpaceMobile shares last traded at $26.82, with a volume of 4,728,634 shares traded.

The company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.17) by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $0.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.85 million.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ASTS shares. Roth Capital began coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $42.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on AST SpaceMobile from $47.90 to $45.40 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer began coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a report on Monday, May 5th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on AST SpaceMobile from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $42.40.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Julio A. Torres sold 20,000 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 52,628 shares in the company, valued at $1,617,258.44. This trade represents a 27.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 34.15% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASTS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 235.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 247,781 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,479,000 after purchasing an additional 174,007 shares in the last quarter. Lake Hills Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the fourth quarter worth about $374,000. KBC Group NV grew its position in AST SpaceMobile by 63.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,509 shares of the company's stock worth $137,000 after acquiring an additional 2,536 shares in the last quarter. MBE Wealth Management LLC grew its position in AST SpaceMobile by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. MBE Wealth Management LLC now owns 39,718 shares of the company's stock worth $838,000 after acquiring an additional 2,602 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its position in AST SpaceMobile by 19.3% in the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 61,858 shares of the company's stock worth $1,392,000 after acquiring an additional 10,004 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.95% of the company's stock.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Up 1.6%

The company has a market cap of $8.44 billion, a PE ratio of -12.58 and a beta of 2.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 5.80 and a quick ratio of 5.80. The company has a 50-day moving average of $24.39 and a 200 day moving average of $24.51.

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.