AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Stock Price Down 5.5% - What's Next?

Key Points

• AST SpaceMobile's stock price dropped by 5.5%, closing at $82.03, following a significant trading volume increase of 52%.
• Analysts have varying ratings on the stock; Barclays has set a target price of $60.00, while UBS downgraded its target to $43.00, reflecting divided expectations for the company's future.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings report showed a loss of $0.41 per share, significantly missing revenue estimates by over $5 million.

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 5.5% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $81.93 and last traded at $82.03. Approximately 18,470,125 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 52% from the average daily volume of 12,169,808 shares. The stock had previously closed at $86.79.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their target price on AST SpaceMobile from $37.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. UBS Group downgraded shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $62.00 to $43.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Scotiabank downgraded shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector underperform" rating and set a $42.90 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $45.27.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Down 5.5%

The business's fifty day moving average is $50.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 8.23 and a current ratio of 8.23. The company has a market cap of $29.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -43.40 and a beta of 2.41.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $1.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 7,213.90% and a negative return on equity of 26.81%. Equities analysts predict that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 20,000 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.48, for a total value of $1,049,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 397,485 shares in the company, valued at $20,860,012.80. The trade was a 4.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.58, for a total transaction of $1,623,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 4,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $192,755. This represents a 89.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 34.15% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the third quarter worth about $51,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its position in AST SpaceMobile by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 142,962 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,017,000 after buying an additional 14,166 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Morris Harris LLC acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the 3rd quarter valued at about $617,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in AST SpaceMobile by 21.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,355 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 7.2% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 67,905 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,173,000 after acquiring an additional 4,533 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.