AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Shares Up 7.1% Following Insider Buying Activity

Key Points

• Shares rose 7.1% after Director Adriana Cisneros bought 750 shares at an average price of $50.79 (≈$38,092), increasing her stake to 784,077 shares — a roughly 0.10% ownership uptick.
• The stock traded up to $55.49 and last at $55.00 on ~9.57M shares (down 21% vs. average), with a market capitalization of about $20.19 billion and a negative P/E of -44.35.
• Analysts carry a consensus Hold rating with an average target of $45.66, and ASTS recently missed quarterly estimates (EPS -$0.45 vs. -$0.18 expected; revenue $14.74M vs. $22.04M) and reported very negative margins.

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 7.1% during trading on Monday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock traded as high as $55.49 and last traded at $55.00. Approximately 9,569,011 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 21% from the average daily volume of 12,087,382 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.37.

Specifically, Director Adriana Cisneros bought 750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $50.79 per share, with a total value of $38,092.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 784,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $39,823,270.83. This represents a 0.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASTS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded AST SpaceMobile from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Barclays downgraded AST SpaceMobile from an "overweight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $60.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, October 17th. Scotiabank raised AST SpaceMobile from a "sector underperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.60 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, William Blair assumed coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AST SpaceMobile currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $45.66.

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $66.46 and a 200 day moving average of $50.74. The company has a current ratio of 9.56, a quick ratio of 9.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -44.35 and a beta of 2.45.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The company reported ($0.45) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.18) by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $14.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.04 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 1,639.59% and a negative return on equity of 27.76%. The company's revenue was up 1236.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted ($1.10) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of AST SpaceMobile

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASTS. REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the third quarter worth $25,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 225.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 650 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Binnacle Investments Inc acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 60.95% of the company's stock.

AST SpaceMobile Company Profile

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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