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

Key Points

• AST SpaceMobile's stock price experienced a significant drop, opening at $36.91 after closing at $42.41, and last trading at $40.20 with a trading volume of over 10 million shares.
• Analyst ratings for AST SpaceMobile are mixed, with UBS raising their price target to $62.00, while Zacks moved the stock from a "strong sell" to a "hold", indicating varied sentiment among market experts.
• The company reported disappointing earnings, posting an EPS of ($0.41) which missed expectations by ($0.22), alongside a significant revenue shortfall of only $1.16 million against the estimated $6.37 million.

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $42.41, but opened at $36.91. AST SpaceMobile shares last traded at $40.20, with a volume of 10,913,072 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on ASTS shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $38.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Zacks Research raised shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $45.40 to $42.90 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $44.00 price objective (up from $36.00) on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $45.98.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Down 6.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 8.23 and a current ratio of 8.23. The company has a market cap of $14.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.11 and a beta of 2.43. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.66.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 anticipate that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 4,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.60, for a total value of $147,050.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 20,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $717,950. This represents a 17.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 20,000 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.48, for a total transaction of $1,049,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 397,485 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,860,012.80. The trade was a 4.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,250 shares of company stock valued at $1,615,050 in the last three months. Company insiders own 34.15% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Flagship Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Flagship Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,106 shares of the company's stock worth $426,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 0.5% in the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 56,619 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,646,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 25.2% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,826 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Tsfg LLC raised its position in AST SpaceMobile by 37.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 1,370 shares of the company's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.95% of the company's stock.

AST SpaceMobile Company Profile

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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