AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Stock Price Up 10.3% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• AST SpaceMobile shares were up 10.3%, trading as high as $92.94 and last at $92.62 on Thursday on ~16.8M shares (about 13% above average), giving the company a market cap of roughly $35.4 billion.
• Analysts are mixed—two Buy, six Hold and three Sell—leaving a MarketBeat consensus rating of Reduce and an average price target of $63.77, even after UBS raised its target to $85 (neutral).
• The company posted a quarter with a revenue beat ($54.3M vs. $39.5M est., +2731% YoY) but missed on EPS (‑$0.26 vs. ‑$0.18 est.) and remains unprofitable with negative margins and ROE.

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 10.3% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $92.94 and last traded at $92.62. Approximately 16,792,035 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 13% from the average daily volume of 14,901,304 shares. The stock had previously closed at $83.99.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on AST SpaceMobile from $43.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Zacks Research upgraded AST SpaceMobile from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Scotiabank lowered 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 report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $63.77.

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

The company's 50 day simple moving average is $93.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.55. The company has a current ratio of 16.35, a quick ratio of 16.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.38 billion, a PE ratio of -70.17 and a beta of 2.80.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 2nd. The company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $54.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.53 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 23.02% and a negative net margin of 482.16%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2731.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AST SpaceMobile

In other AST SpaceMobile news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.88, for a total value of $3,555,200.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 4,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $422,180. This trade represents a 89.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 30.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ASTS. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AST SpaceMobile in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 60.95% of the stock is currently 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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