AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Stock Price Down 2.9% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Shares fell 2.9% to $112.44 on Tuesday with below-average volume; the stock carries a market cap of $41.27 billion, a negative P/E (-90.68) and a beta of 2.70, indicating high valuation and volatility.
• Wall Street has a consensus rating of Reduce with a consensus target price of $45.66, following several downgrades despite a mix of buy, hold and sell opinions.
• ASTS reported an EPS miss (‑$0.45 vs. ‑$0.18 expected) and very negative margins despite revenue rising 1,236% year-over-year, while major shareholder Tower Corp sold 2,288,621 shares (~$159.6M), indicating notable insider selling.

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 2.9% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $111.03 and last traded at $112.44. 17,216,016 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 9% from the average session volume of 18,890,898 shares. The stock had previously closed at $115.77.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. B. Riley cut shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Scotiabank cut AST SpaceMobile from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector underperform" rating and set a $45.60 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays cut AST SpaceMobile from an "overweight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $60.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, October 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $45.66.

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 9.48 and a current ratio of 9.56. The stock has a market cap of $41.27 billion, a PE ratio of -90.68 and a beta of 2.70. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $74.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.24.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at AST SpaceMobile

In other AST SpaceMobile news, major shareholder Tower Corp /Ma/ American sold 2,288,621 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.75, for a total transaction of $159,631,314.75. Following the sale, the insider owned 211,379 shares in the company, valued at $14,743,685.25. This trade represents a 91.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.52, for a total value of $2,940,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 4,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at $349,220. The trade was a 89.39% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 2,765 shares of company stock worth $187,236 and have sold 2,354,621 shares worth $164,348,075. Insiders own 30.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASTS. REAP Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 60.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About AST SpaceMobile

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.

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