AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Shares Up 16.2% - What's Next?

Key Points

• AST SpaceMobile's shares surged 16.2% to a closing price of $66.16, with trading volume reaching approximately 30 million shares, far exceeding average daily volumes.
• Despite the recent stock rise, analysts have mixed views: Barclays increased their price target to $60.00, while Scotiabank reduced it to $42.90, with the consensus rating being "Hold" and a target price of $45.27.
• Insider trading activity included CFO Andrew Martin Johnson selling 20,000 shares, reducing his ownership to approximately 397,485 shares, reflecting a significant 4.79% ownership decrease.

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) rose 16.2% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $66.83 and last traded at $66.16. Approximately 30,043,566 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 153% from the average daily volume of 11,851,907 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.94.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASTS has been the topic of several research reports. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $45.40 to $42.90 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $37.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group downgraded shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $62.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and set a $44.00 price target (up previously from $36.00) on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $45.27.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Up 16.2%

The firm has a market cap of $23.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -35.01 and a beta of 2.42. The firm's fifty day moving average is $47.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 8.23 and a quick ratio of 8.23.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $1.16 million for 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 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 approximately $20,860,012.80. This represents a 4.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the chief technology officer owned 4,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at $192,755. This represents a 89.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 34.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AST SpaceMobile

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 61.9% in the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,321 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc bought a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 388.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,559 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240 shares during the period. Finally, Chapman Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors 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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