AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Shares Up 5.3% - What's Next?

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 5.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $25.60 and last traded at $25.37. Approximately 4,667,509 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 12,529,156 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.10.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ASTS shares. UBS Group lifted 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. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Monday, May 5th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Roth Capital started coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $42.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on AST SpaceMobile from $47.90 to $45.40 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.40.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Up 2.8%

The stock has a market cap of $7.84 billion, a PE ratio of -11.74 and a beta of 2.05. The business has a 50-day moving average of $24.08 and a 200 day moving average of $24.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 5.80 and a current ratio of 5.80.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.17) by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $0.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.85 million. Equities research analysts predict that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 55,000 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total value of $1,475,100.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Julio A. Torres sold 20,000 shares of AST SpaceMobile 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 34.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its position in AST SpaceMobile by 61.9% during the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,321 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in 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 in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Close Asset Management Ltd lifted its position in AST SpaceMobile by 72.4% during the 1st quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,810 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 760 shares in the last quarter. 60.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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