AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Stock Price Down 8.9% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• AST SpaceMobile shares fell 8.9% on Friday to $111.21 (intraday low $108.67), with about 19.6 million shares traded, roughly 9% above average volume.
• Analysts are mixed and the consensus rating is an average of "Reduce" with an average price target of $45.66, well below the current share price.
• The company recently missed expectations, reporting EPS of -$0.45 vs. -$0.18 expected and revenue of $14.74M vs. $22.04M expected, along with very negative margins and return on equity.

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) dropped 8.9% on Friday . The company traded as low as $108.67 and last traded at $111.21. Approximately 19,585,312 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 9% from the average daily volume of 17,932,781 shares. The stock had previously closed at $122.09.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Scotiabank downgraded shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector underperform" rating and set a $45.60 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. B. Riley cut shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Barclays lowered shares of AST SpaceMobile from an "overweight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $60.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $45.66.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Down 8.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 9.48 and a current ratio of 9.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.82 billion, a PE ratio of -89.68 and a beta of 2.70. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $82.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.78.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The company reported ($0.45) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.18) by ($0.27). AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 1,639.59% and a negative return on equity of 27.76%. The company had revenue of $14.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.04 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.10) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1236.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AST SpaceMobile

In other news, COO Shanti B. Gupta sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.34, for a total value of $773,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 382,375 shares in the company, valued at $29,572,882.50. This trade represents a 2.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Tower Corp /Ma/ American sold 2,288,621 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.75, for a total value of $159,631,314.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 211,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,743,685.25. The trade was a 91.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 2,765 shares of company stock worth $187,236 and have sold 2,354,621 shares worth $164,348,075. 30.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. REAP Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 500 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 60.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About AST SpaceMobile

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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