AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Stock Price Up 12.5% - Here's Why

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 12.5% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $35.82 and last traded at $35.09. 13,725,206 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 13% from the average session volume of 12,192,317 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.19.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.78. The company has a market capitalization of $11.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.20 and a beta of 2.02. The company has a current ratio of 5.80, a quick ratio of 5.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.17) by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $0.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.85 million. As a group, analysts predict that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Scott Wisniewski sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.65, for a total value of $1,782,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 545,595 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,450,461.75. This represents a 8.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 55,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total value of $1,475,100.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 174,250 shares of company stock worth $5,728,350. Corporate insiders own 34.15% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of AST SpaceMobile

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 61.9% in the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,321 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 388.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,559 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in AST SpaceMobile during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the first quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Close Asset Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 72.4% during the first quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,810 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 760 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.