AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Shares Up 16% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• AST SpaceMobile's shares surged 16% during trading, reaching a high of $57.20 before closing at $56.94, with trading volume increasing significantly to nearly 20 million shares.
• Analysts have mixed reviews on the stock, with UBS Group downgrading it to "neutral" with a target price cut to $43.00, while Barclays increased its target price to $60.00 and rated it "overweight."
• The company reported a net loss of ($0.41) earnings per share for the last quarter, falling short of analyst estimates, with revenues of $1.16 million, significantly below the expected $6.37 million.

Shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) shot up 16% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $57.20 and last traded at $56.94. 19,803,436 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 69% from the average session volume of 11,744,122 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.08.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on ASTS. UBS Group cut AST SpaceMobile from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $43.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. B. Riley restated a "buy" rating and set a $44.00 target price (up previously from $36.00) on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Monday, June 16th. Zacks Research upgraded AST SpaceMobile from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. William Blair assumed coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a report on Thursday, August 21st. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on AST SpaceMobile from $37.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $45.27.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $47.86 and a 200-day moving average of $37.49. The firm has a market cap of $20.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.13 and a beta of 2.43. 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 released its earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by ($0.22). AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 7,213.90% and a negative return on equity of 26.81%. The company had revenue of $1.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 million. Research analysts predict that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other AST SpaceMobile news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief technology officer owned 4,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $192,755. This represents a 89.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.48, for a total value 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. The trade was a 4.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 41.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Rakuten Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the first quarter worth about $705,398,000. Alphabet Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the first quarter worth about $203,375,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 2.7% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,266,315 shares of the company's stock worth $28,796,000 after purchasing an additional 33,259 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 4.1% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 888,654 shares of the company's stock worth $20,208,000 after purchasing an additional 34,591 shares during the period. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 1,992.5% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 843,554 shares of the company's stock worth $19,182,000 after purchasing an additional 803,240 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.95% of the company's stock.

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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