AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Stock Price Up 9.7% - Here's Why

Key Points

• AST SpaceMobile shares rose 9.7% as investors piled into space stocks ahead of the expected SpaceX IPO, lifting the stock alongside peers like Virgin Galactic and Rocket Lab.
• The company also has a June 17 Falcon 9 launch scheduled to deploy BlueBird 8 to 10, a milestone that could help advance its direct-to-smartphone broadband network.
• Despite the rally, sentiment remains cautious: analysts have a “Reduce” average rating and recent reports highlight volatility, insider selling, and a history of missed earnings and revenue estimates.

Shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) were up 9.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $94.38 and last traded at $95.7640. Approximately 10,756,921 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 39% from the average daily volume of 17,710,596 shares. The stock had previously closed at $87.32.

AST SpaceMobile News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting AST SpaceMobile this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Space stocks are attracting strong buying interest, with AST SpaceMobile moving higher alongside Virgin Galactic, Planet Labs and Rocket Lab as investors position for the expected SpaceX IPO. Space stocks catch a bid
• Positive Sentiment: AST SpaceMobile has a confirmed Falcon 9 launch date for June 17 to deploy BlueBird 8 to 10, which could advance its direct-to-smartphone broadband network and support the bullish thesis. BlueBird launch date confirmed
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators note that a listed SpaceX could re-rate the entire space sector, but the same event may also increase volatility as investors compare peers more closely. SpaceX-related market commentary
• Negative Sentiment: Recent reports highlight that ASTS has been highly volatile, including a sharp drop earlier this month, analyst downgrades, and heavy insider selling, which may temper enthusiasm even amid the current rally. Volatility warning

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASTS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. B. Riley Financial lifted their price target on AST SpaceMobile from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, New Street Research set a $106.00 price target on AST SpaceMobile in a report on Friday, May 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $81.33.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Performance

The business's fifty day simple moving average is $90.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.64. The firm has a market cap of $38.00 billion, a P/E ratio of -54.87 and a beta of 2.70. The company has a current ratio of 18.47, a quick ratio of 18.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.66) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.23) by ($0.43). The business had revenue of $14.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.01 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 573.67% and a negative return on equity of 24.87%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1952.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.20) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AST SpaceMobile

In other AST SpaceMobile news, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.25, for a total transaction of $451,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 565,805 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $51,063,901.25. This trade represents a 0.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.37, for a total transaction of $3,854,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 34,750 shares in the company, valued at $3,348,857.50. This represents a 53.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,140,000 shares of company stock valued at $279,903,150. Company insiders own 20.89% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of AST SpaceMobile

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ASTS. Vodafone Ventures Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $397,413,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the fourth quarter worth $198,270,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,919,888 shares of the company's stock valued at $977,668,000 after acquiring an additional 2,351,539 shares during the last quarter. Clear Street Group Inc. purchased a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the 3rd quarter valued at $90,129,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 44.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,661,551 shares of the company's stock valued at $338,569,000 after acquiring an additional 1,425,199 shares during the period. 60.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About AST SpaceMobile

AST SpaceMobile is a U.S.-based aerospace company developing a space-based cellular broadband network designed to connect standard mobile phones and other devices directly to satellites. The company's core proposition is “space-to-cell” service: operating a constellation of low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites equipped with large, high-power phased-array antennas to provide wide-area mobile broadband without requiring users to buy specialized terminals or handset modifications.

AST SpaceMobile designs, builds and operates satellite payloads and supporting ground infrastructure.

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