AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Trading 2.4% Higher - Here's Why

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) traded up 2.4% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $49.24 and last traded at $49.01. 3,669,180 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 12,775,050 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.86.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.40 target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Roth Capital assumed coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $42.00 price objective on the stock. B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $44.00 price objective (up from $36.00) on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Monday, May 5th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $45.34.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Performance

The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $37.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 10.62 and a current ratio of 10.62. The company has a market capitalization of $17.73 billion, a PE ratio of -28.13 and a beta of 2.27.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.17) by ($0.03). AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 7,033.22% and a negative return on equity of 23.56%. The company had revenue of $0.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Shanti B. Gupta sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.08, for a total transaction of $541,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 315,667 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,389,265.36. This represents a 4.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 55,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total transaction of $1,475,100.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 184,250 shares of company stock valued at $6,146,750 in the last 90 days. 34.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AST SpaceMobile

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ASTS. Rakuten Group Inc. acquired a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the 1st quarter worth approximately $705,398,000. Alphabet Inc. acquired a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the 1st quarter worth approximately $203,375,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in AST SpaceMobile by 49.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,987,351 shares of the company's stock worth $316,233,000 after purchasing an additional 4,955,941 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,523,000. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC increased its position in AST SpaceMobile by 1,992.5% during the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 843,554 shares of the company's stock worth $19,182,000 after purchasing an additional 803,240 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.