AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Stock Price Down 6.5% - Here's Why

Key Points

• AST SpaceMobile's stock price fell 6.5% to $89.50 after trading as low as $88.93, amidst an increase in trading volume by 39% compared to the average.
• Research analysts show mixed sentiments, with Barclays raising their price target to $60.00 while UBS downgraded their rating from "buy" to "neutral," now targeting $43.00.
• Corporate insiders have made significant stock sales recently, with the CFO selling 20,000 shares at an average price of $52.48, indicating a 4.79% decrease in their position.

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 6.5% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $88.93 and last traded at $89.50. 17,025,743 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 39% from the average session volume of 12,240,418 shares. The stock had previously closed at $95.69.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ASTS. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $37.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Zacks Research raised shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. UBS Group downgraded shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $62.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $45.27.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Down 6.5%

The company has a market cap of $32.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -47.35 and a beta of 2.41. The company has a quick ratio of 8.23, a current ratio of 8.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The business's 50 day moving average is $53.32 and its 200 day moving average is $41.40.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.48, for a total transaction of $1,049,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 397,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,860,012.80. This represents a 4.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.58, for a total value of $1,623,200.00. Following 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. Corporate insiders own 34.15% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of AST SpaceMobile

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASTS. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 61.9% during the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,321 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc purchased a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the second quarter valued at $33,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 388.7% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Chapman Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the second quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.95% of the company's stock.

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.

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