AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Shares Up 1.4% - Time to Buy?

Shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) were up 1.4% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $28.99 and last traded at $29.09. Approximately 5,507,317 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 54% from the average daily volume of 12,063,669 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.69.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

AST SpaceMobile Stock Up 1.1%

The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $24.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 5.80 and a current ratio of 5.80. The company has a market cap of $9.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.71 and a beta of 2.02.

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

Insider Transactions at AST SpaceMobile

In other AST SpaceMobile news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 55,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total value of $1,475,100.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Julio A. Torres sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.73, for a total transaction of $614,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 52,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,617,258.44. This trade represents a 27.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 34.15% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 61.9% in the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,321 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 5.9% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 10,244 shares of the company's stock valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 568 shares during the period. Close Asset Management Ltd increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 760 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 15.6% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,525 shares of the company's stock worth $171,000 after acquiring an additional 1,016 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 106.3% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,372 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 1,222 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.95% of the company's stock.

About AST SpaceMobile

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.