AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Stock Price Down 5% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• AST SpaceMobile shares fell 5% on Friday, trading as low as $55.73 after closing at $59.18 the day before, with volume notably below average.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans cautious: the stock currently carries an average “Hold” rating and an average price target of $86.95, with recent target cuts from firms like Deutsche Bank and UBS.
• The company reported a wider-than-expected loss in its latest quarter, missing both EPS and revenue estimates, while insiders have also sold shares in recent months.

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) shares dropped 5% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $55.73 and last traded at $56.20. Approximately 10,922,697 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 41% from the average session volume of 18,521,160 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $100.00 target price for the company. Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $117.00 to $106.00 in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AST SpaceMobile presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $86.95.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Down 5.0%

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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $85.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.81. The stock has a market cap of $21.81 billion, a P/E ratio of -31.57 and a beta of 2.69.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 573.67% and a negative return on equity of 24.87%. The firm had revenue of $14.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.01 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.20) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1952.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 45,809 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.81, for a total value of $4,297,342.29. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 503,619 shares in the company, valued at $47,244,498.39. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 34,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,348,857.50. This represents a 53.51% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders have sold 105,809 shares of company stock worth $9,748,492 in the last quarter. 20.89% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of AST SpaceMobile

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 16,350.0% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 329 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Portus Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the first quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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