AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Trading 4.2% Higher - Here's What Happened

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) shares were up 4.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $44.24 and last traded at $44.28. Approximately 2,426,326 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 12,713,790 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on ASTS shares. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and set a $44.00 price target (up previously from $36.00) on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Roth Capital started coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $42.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer started coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Monday, May 5th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.40 price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $45.34.

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 10.62 and a quick ratio of 10.62. The stock has a market cap of $13.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.10 and a beta of 2.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $34.55 and a 200 day moving average of $28.00.

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

Insider Activity at AST SpaceMobile

In related news, President Scott Wisniewski sold 50,000 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.65, for a total transaction of $1,782,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 545,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,450,461.75. This trade represents a 8.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Shanti B. Gupta sold 15,000 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.08, for a total value of $541,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 315,667 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,389,265.36. This represents a 4.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 184,250 shares of company stock worth $6,146,750. 34.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of AST SpaceMobile

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 2.4% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,641 shares of the company's stock valued at $759,000 after buying an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 61.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 5.9% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 10,244 shares of the company's stock valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd increased its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 72.4% in the first quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,810 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 15.6% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,525 shares of the company's stock valued at $171,000 after buying an additional 1,016 shares in the last quarter. 60.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.