AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Stock Price Down 8.3% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• AST SpaceMobile's stock price dropped by 8.3% to $49.98, with a significant decrease in trading volume, down 72% from its average.
• Analysts have mixed opinions, with B. Riley reiterating a "buy" rating and raising the target price to $44, while UBS cut its rating to "neutral" with a target of $43.
• The company reported a quarterly loss of ($0.41) EPS, missing estimates significantly, with actual revenue of $1.16 million compared to expectations of $6.37 million.

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 8.3% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $49.22 and last traded at $49.98. Approximately 3,268,027 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 11,710,808 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.50.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASTS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $44.00 price objective (up from $36.00) on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Monday, June 16th. Zacks Research raised shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. UBS Group cut shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $62.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, William Blair assumed coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $42.82.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $17.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.38 and a beta of 2.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 8.23 and a quick ratio of 8.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $48.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.84.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.19) by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $1.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 7,213.90% and a negative return on equity of 26.81%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AST SpaceMobile

In other news, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.48, for a total value of $1,049,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 397,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,860,012.80. This trade represents a 4.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 4,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $192,755. This represents a 89.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 34.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of AST SpaceMobile

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 117.5% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 51,874 shares of the company's stock worth $1,095,000 after acquiring an additional 28,025 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 49.7% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 275,810 shares of the company's stock worth $5,820,000 after acquiring an additional 91,536 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter worth $217,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 147,430 shares of the company's stock worth $3,111,000 after acquiring an additional 19,471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Key Colony Management LLC increased its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 204.1% during the first quarter. Key Colony Management LLC now owns 596,000 shares of the company's stock worth $13,553,000 after purchasing an additional 400,000 shares in the last quarter. 60.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.