AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Shares Gap Up - Here's Why

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $23.02, but opened at $24.35. AST SpaceMobile shares last traded at $27.00, with a volume of 7,479,477 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASTS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Roth Capital initiated coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $42.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Monday. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AST SpaceMobile has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $42.82.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Up 0.5 %

The firm has a market cap of $8.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.00 and a beta of 2.05. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $24.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.52. The company has a quick ratio of 5.80, a current ratio of 5.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Insider Activity at AST SpaceMobile

In other AST SpaceMobile news, Director Julio A. Torres sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.73, for a total value of $614,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 52,628 shares in the company, valued at $1,617,258.44. This represents a 27.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 41.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of AST SpaceMobile

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Alphabet Inc. bought a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the 1st quarter valued at $203,375,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 49.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,987,351 shares of the company's stock valued at $316,233,000 after acquiring an additional 4,955,941 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the fourth quarter valued at about $59,523,000. Key Colony Management LLC grew its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 204.1% during the 1st quarter. Key Colony Management LLC now owns 596,000 shares of the company's stock worth $13,553,000 after acquiring an additional 400,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the 1st quarter valued at about $7,294,000. 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.