AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Shares Down 5.3% on Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• AST SpaceMobile's stock price dropped 5.3% following a downgrade by Scotiabank, which lowered its price target from $45.40 to $42.90.
• Analysts generally have a moderate buy rating for AST SpaceMobile, with a consensus target price of $44.99, but opinions vary with some rating it as a buy and others as neutral.
• Insider selling activity has increased, with over 184,000 shares sold in the last ninety days, indicating possible concerns among executives regarding the stock's future performance.

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) shares were down 5.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Scotiabank lowered their price target on the stock from $45.40 to $42.90. Scotiabank currently has a sector perform rating on the stock. AST SpaceMobile traded as low as $49.43 and last traded at $49.03. Approximately 2,811,323 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 11,985,000 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.79.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer started coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a report on Monday, May 5th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Bank of America started coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $44.00 target price (up from $36.00) on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Roth Capital started coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $42.00 target price for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $44.99.

Insider Transactions at AST SpaceMobile

In other news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 55,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Scott Wisniewski sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.65, for a total value of $1,782,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 545,595 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,450,461.75. The trade was a 8.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 184,250 shares of company stock valued at $6,146,750. Corporate insiders own 41.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in AST SpaceMobile by 61.9% during the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,321 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in AST SpaceMobile by 388.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,559 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 1,240 shares in the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Close Asset Management Ltd increased its position in AST SpaceMobile by 72.4% during the 1st quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,810 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 760 shares in the last quarter. 60.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Down 2.3%

The company has a 50-day moving average of $46.33 and a 200-day moving average of $32.64. The company has a market capitalization of $14.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.43 and a beta of 2.33. The company has a current ratio of 10.62, a quick ratio of 10.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.17) by ($0.03). AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 7,033.22% and a negative return on equity of 23.56%. The business had revenue of $0.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 million. On average, equities analysts predict that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.