AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Stock Price Down 6.2% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• AST SpaceMobile shares fell 6.2% to $53.03, trading below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages. The stock has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average analyst price target of $87.60, though targets range widely from $50.80 to $106.
• Potential growth catalysts include the planned August 5 launch of three BlueBird satellites and Vodafone’s targeted early-2027 U.K. beta service. Scotiabank upgraded the stock to “sector perform,” but its $50.80 target remains below the current share price.
• The company continues to face execution and profitability risks: its latest quarterly loss and revenue missed estimates, with analysts forecasting a full-year loss of $1.38 per share. Insiders sold about $9.75 million of stock over the past three months, while institutional investors own 60.95% of shares.

Shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) traded down 6.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $52.80 and last traded at $53.03. Approximately 12,342,372 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 33% from the average session volume of 18,383,068 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.55.

Key Stories Impacting AST SpaceMobile

Here are the key news stories impacting AST SpaceMobile this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank upgraded ASTS to “sector perform” from “sector underperform,” citing the company’s partnerships and upcoming satellite launches as potential growth catalysts. However, the firm’s $50.80 price target remains below the stock’s recent trading level, limiting the bullish impact. Scotiabank ASTS rating update
• Positive Sentiment: AST SpaceMobile scheduled the launch of BlueBird satellites 11, 12 and 13 for August 5 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral. The mission is an important step toward expanding network capacity and advancing commercial service. AST SpaceMobile BlueBird launch announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Vodafone said the AST partnership is “definitely” worthwhile and is targeting an early-2027 U.K. beta launch, providing additional validation and a potential path to initial service revenue. Vodafone AST partnership update

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank raised AST SpaceMobile from a "sector underperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $50.80 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut AST SpaceMobile from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $117.00 to $106.00 in a research note on Friday, May 29th. UBS Group cut their price objective on AST SpaceMobile from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, William Blair restated a "market perform" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Friday, May 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $87.60.

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 18.47 and a quick ratio of 18.37. The stock has a market cap of $20.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -29.79 and a beta of 2.69. The business's fifty day moving average price is $83.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.08.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $14.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.01 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.20) EPS. The company's revenue was up 1952.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AST SpaceMobile

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 transaction of $4,297,342.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 503,619 shares of the company's stock, valued at $47,244,498.39. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.37, for a total value of $3,854,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 34,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,348,857.50. The trade was a 53.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 105,809 shares of company stock worth $9,748,492 over the last three months. 20.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vodafone Ventures Ltd bought a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the 4th quarter worth about $397,413,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 4th quarter worth about $198,270,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in AST SpaceMobile by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,488,180 shares of the company's stock worth $1,560,687,000 after acquiring an additional 1,568,292 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 44.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,661,551 shares of the company's stock valued at $338,569,000 after acquiring an additional 1,425,199 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 8,016.7% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,269,609 shares of the company's stock valued at $92,000,000 after acquiring an additional 1,253,967 shares in the last quarter. 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.

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