AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Shares Up 6.4% - Here's What Happened

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 6.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $56.88 and last traded at $56.01. 6,847,038 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 47% from the average session volume of 12,830,102 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.63.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ASTS. Bank of America began coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Monday, May 5th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $44.00 price target (up previously from $36.00) on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Roth Capital began coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $42.00 price target for the company. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.40 price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $45.34.

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 10.62 and a current ratio of 10.62. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $36.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.18 billion, a PE ratio of -28.87 and a beta of 2.27.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.17) by ($0.03). AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 23.56% and a negative net margin of 7,033.22%. The firm had revenue of $0.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Shanti B. Gupta sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.84, for a total value of $418,400.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 305,667 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,789,107.28. This trade represents a 3.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Scott Wisniewski sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.65, for a total transaction of $1,782,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 545,595 shares in the company, valued at $19,450,461.75. This represents a 8.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 184,250 shares of company stock valued at $6,146,750 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 34.15% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 505 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 388.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,559 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 1,240 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the first quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Close Asset Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 72.4% during the first quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,810 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 760 shares during the period. 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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