AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Stock Price Down 1.4% - Here's Why

Key Points

• AST SpaceMobile shares fell 1.4% in Thursday trading, with the stock last changing hands at $73.88 after hitting an intraday low of $71.77. Trading volume was below normal, coming in at about 10.6 million shares versus the 18.5 million average.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with the stock carrying an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $85.09. Recent moves included Deutsche Bank cutting its rating to hold, while Barclays raised its target to $65 and New Street Research set a much higher $106 target.
• The company’s latest earnings missed expectations, reporting a loss of $0.66 per share versus the expected $0.23 loss and revenue of $14.73 million versus $39.01 million forecast. Despite strong year-over-year revenue growth, insiders have also been selling shares, including recent transactions by a director and the CTO.

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) shares traded down 1.4% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $71.77 and last traded at $73.88. Approximately 10,609,887 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 43% from the average daily volume of 18,548,510 shares. The stock had previously closed at $74.95.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ASTS shares. William Blair reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Barclays raised their price objective on AST SpaceMobile from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. New Street Research set a $106.00 target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Friday, May 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $117.00 to $106.00 in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AST SpaceMobile presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $85.09.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Down 1.4%

The company has a quick ratio of 18.37, a current ratio of 18.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $87.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $89.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -41.51 and a beta of 2.69.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.66) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.23) by ($0.43). AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 24.87% and a negative net margin of 573.67%.The company had revenue of $14.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $39.01 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.20) earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 1952.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other AST SpaceMobile news, Director Julio A. Torres sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.34, for a total transaction of $1,145,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 43,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,300,865.26. This trade represents a 25.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.37, for a total transaction of $3,854,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 34,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,348,857.50. This trade represents a 53.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,145,809 shares of company stock worth $280,645,292. 20.89% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 16,350.0% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 329 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.95% of the company's stock.

AST SpaceMobile Company Profile

AST SpaceMobile is a U.S.-based aerospace company developing a space-based cellular broadband network designed to connect standard mobile phones and other devices directly to satellites. The company's core proposition is “space-to-cell” service: operating a constellation of low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites equipped with large, high-power phased-array antennas to provide wide-area mobile broadband without requiring users to buy specialized terminals or handset modifications.

AST SpaceMobile designs, builds and operates satellite payloads and supporting ground infrastructure.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.