AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Trading Down 1.3% - Here's Why

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 1.3% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $22.78 and last traded at $23.27. 3,222,767 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 10,929,755 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.57.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on ASTS. Scotiabank lowered their price target on AST SpaceMobile from $47.90 to $45.40 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Oppenheimer began coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. UBS Group upped their target price on AST SpaceMobile from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Roth Capital began coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $42.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AST SpaceMobile presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.40.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Down 1.5%

The firm has a market capitalization of $7.35 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.95 and a beta of 2.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 5.80 and a current ratio of 5.80. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $23.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.52.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.17) by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $0.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Julio A. Torres sold 20,000 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was 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 owns 52,628 shares in the company, valued at $1,617,258.44. The trade was 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

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 61.9% during 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. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 388.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,559 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the first quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Close Asset Management Ltd boosted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. 60.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.