AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Stock Price Up 8.8% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• AST SpaceMobile's stock price rose by 8.8%, reaching $51.22 during trading on Monday, although the volume was significantly lower than average.
• Zacks Research upgraded AST SpaceMobile from a "strong sell" to a "hold" rating, while market consensus indicates a "Moderate Buy" rating with a price target of $48.41.
• During the most recent quarter, AST SpaceMobile reported a loss of ($0.41) EPS, missing estimates, with revenue of only $1.16 million against expectations of $6.37 million.

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 8.8% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $51.24 and last traded at $51.22. 4,658,805 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average session volume of 11,792,138 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.07.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on ASTS. Zacks Research raised AST SpaceMobile from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Thursday. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Bank of America assumed 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 on the stock. Finally, B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $44.00 price target (up previously from $36.00) on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $48.41.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 8.23 and a current ratio of 8.23. The company has a market capitalization of $17.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.52 and a beta of 2.33. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.46.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 4,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.60, for a total transaction of $147,050.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 20,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $717,950. This represents a 17.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Shanti B. Gupta sold 15,000 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 315,667 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,389,265.36. This trade represents a 4.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 129,250 shares of company stock worth $4,671,650 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 41.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of AST SpaceMobile

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASTS. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Binnacle Investments Inc acquired a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Chapman Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the 2nd quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the second quarter worth $47,000. 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.

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