AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Trading 4.9% Higher - Here's What Happened

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) shares traded up 4.9% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $27.65 and last traded at $26.43. 11,088,516 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 7% from the average session volume of 11,986,843 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $47.90 to $45.40 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Capital started coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $42.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Monday, May 5th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.40.

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

The business's fifty day moving average is $24.21 and its 200-day moving average is $24.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 5.80 and a quick ratio of 5.80. The firm has a market cap of $9.87 billion, a PE ratio of -14.71 and a beta of 2.02.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.17) by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $0.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 million. On average, research analysts predict that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AST SpaceMobile news, Director Julio A. Torres sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.73, for a total transaction of $614,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 52,628 shares in the company, valued at $1,617,258.44. This trade represents a 27.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 55,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was 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. 34.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in AST SpaceMobile by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,266,713 shares of the company's stock worth $26,728,000 after purchasing an additional 135,008 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB bought a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $755,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 25.2% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 117,822 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,486,000 after acquiring an additional 23,746 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 150.1% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 258,747 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,460,000 after acquiring an additional 155,310 shares during the period. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank bought a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,220,000. 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.