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

Key Points

• AST SpaceMobile shares gapped down from a previous close of $89.50 to an opening of $83.37, before last trading at $83.78, with significant volume of over 5.7 million shares.
• Analysts have downgraded the stock, with UBS lowering its rating from "buy" to "neutral" and cutting the price target from $62.00 to $43.00, while Barclays moved from "overweight" to "underweight" with a $60 price target.
• Insider selling was noted, with the CTO selling 40,000 shares at an average price of $40.58, representing an 89.39% decrease in their ownership.

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) shares gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $89.50, but opened at $83.37. AST SpaceMobile shares last traded at $83.78, with a volume of 5,709,512 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ASTS shares. UBS Group cut AST SpaceMobile from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $43.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. William Blair started coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a report on Thursday, August 21st. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Barclays cut AST SpaceMobile from an "overweight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $60.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday. Roth Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $45.27.

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.86. The stock has a market cap of $30.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -44.20 and a beta of 2.41. The company has a quick ratio of 8.23, a current ratio of 8.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.58, for a total value of $1,623,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 4,750 shares in the company, valued at $192,755. This represents a 89.39% 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, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.48, for a total transaction of $1,049,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 397,485 shares in the company, valued at $20,860,012.80. This trade represents a 4.79% 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 Investors Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASTS. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 505 shares during the period. Binnacle Investments Inc bought a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the second quarter worth $33,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 388.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,559 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chapman Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. 60.95% of the stock is 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.

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