AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Shares Up 1.1% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Shares rose 1.1% to $77.28 in mid‑day trading with volume down ~21% versus average; the stock carries a market cap of about $29.5 billion and a negative P/E (~‑58.5).
• Q1 results disappointed on EPS (‑$0.26 vs. consensus ‑$0.18) despite revenue jumping ~2,731% year‑over‑year, and analysts remain mixed — MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of “Reduce” with an $82.51 average price target.
• Heavy insider selling: major shareholder Hiroshi Mikitani sold 1.69M shares (~$154.5M) and insiders sold 3.08M shares over the last three months, although insiders still own about 30.9% of the company.

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $77.80 and last traded at $77.2770. 12,220,297 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 21% from the average session volume of 15,452,607 shares. The stock had previously closed at $76.40.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on ASTS. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Friday, March 27th. New Street Research set a $115.00 target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Monday, April 20th. B. Riley Financial reduced their target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $105.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AST SpaceMobile presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $82.51.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Performance

The business's fifty day moving average is $87.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.80. The company has a quick ratio of 16.27, a current ratio of 16.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.52 billion, a PE ratio of -58.54 and a beta of 2.81.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.18) by ($0.08). AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 482.16% and a negative return on equity of 23.02%. The business had revenue of $54.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $39.53 million. AST SpaceMobile's revenue was up 2731.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Hiroshi Mikitani sold 1,690,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.42, for a total value of $154,499,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 29,330,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,681,362,770.10. This trade represents a 5.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.88, for a total transaction of $3,555,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 4,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $422,180. This trade represents a 89.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 3,080,000 shares of company stock valued at $274,452,000. 30.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in AST SpaceMobile by 11.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 34,548 shares of the company's stock worth $786,000 after buying an additional 3,642 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in AST SpaceMobile by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 79,764 shares of the company's stock worth $1,814,000 after buying an additional 3,515 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in AST SpaceMobile by 16.1% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 467,626 shares of the company's stock worth $10,634,000 after buying an additional 64,989 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in AST SpaceMobile by 18.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 325,621 shares of the company's stock worth $7,405,000 after buying an additional 49,811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the first quarter worth $168,000. 60.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About AST SpaceMobile

AST SpaceMobile is a U.S.-based aerospace company developing a space-based cellular broadband network designed to connect standard mobile phones and other devices directly to satellites. The company's core proposition is “space-to-cell” service: operating a constellation of low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites equipped with large, high-power phased-array antennas to provide wide-area mobile broadband without requiring users to buy specialized terminals or handset modifications.

AST SpaceMobile designs, builds and operates satellite payloads and supporting ground infrastructure.

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