AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Stock Price Up 4.4% - What's Next?

Key Points

• AST SpaceMobile's stock price increased by 4.4% during trading, reaching a high of $99.13 before closing at $94.50, with a trading volume of about 17.3 million shares, reflecting a significant rise from the average volume.
• Analysts have issued mixed ratings for AST SpaceMobile, with UBS Group downgrading it from "buy" to "neutral" and lowering the price target significantly, while B. Riley maintained a "buy" rating with a revised target of $44.00.
• The company reported a loss of ($0.41) earnings per share for the last quarter, missing expectations of ($0.19), and did not meet revenue estimates, generating only $1.16 million against a $6.37 million forecast.

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 4.4% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $99.13 and last traded at $94.50. Approximately 17,293,634 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 42% from the average daily volume of 12,204,199 shares. The stock had previously closed at $90.50.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ASTS shares. UBS Group lowered shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $43.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and set a $44.00 target price (up previously from $36.00) on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Scotiabank cut AST SpaceMobile from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector underperform" rating and set a $42.90 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Finally, William Blair began coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AST SpaceMobile has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $45.27.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $33.88 billion, a PE ratio of -50.00 and a beta of 2.41. 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 of $51.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.65.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by ($0.22). AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 26.81% and a negative net margin of 7,213.90%.The company had revenue of $1.16 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.37 million. Research analysts predict that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other AST SpaceMobile news, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.48, for a total value of $1,049,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 397,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,860,012.80. The trade was a 4.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $192,755. This represents a 89.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 41.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AST SpaceMobile

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ASTS. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the fourth quarter valued at about $217,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 388.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,559 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 246.1% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 29,802 shares of the company's stock valued at $678,000 after acquiring an additional 21,192 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 36.8% during the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 116,847 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,657,000 after acquiring an additional 31,414 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $331,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.

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.