AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Stock Price Up 7.2% - Should You Buy?

Shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) were up 7.2% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $43.98 and last traded at $42.97. Approximately 9,248,938 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 25% from the average daily volume of 12,372,430 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.10.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $44.00 target price (up previously from $36.00) on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Roth Capital started coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $42.00 price objective for the company. 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 note on Wednesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Monday, May 5th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price target on AST SpaceMobile from $47.90 to $45.40 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. 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, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.73.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Up 3.6%

The stock's 50-day moving average price is $27.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 10.62 and a quick ratio of 10.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.54 billion, a PE ratio of -23.09 and a beta of 2.02.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.17) by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $0.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.85 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 23.56% and a negative net margin of 7,033.22%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AST SpaceMobile

In related news, COO Shanti B. Gupta sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.84, for a total value of $418,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 305,667 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,789,107.28. This represents a 3.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, President Scott Wisniewski sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.65, for a total transaction of $1,782,500.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 545,595 shares in the company, valued at $19,450,461.75. This trade represents a 8.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 184,250 shares of company stock valued at $6,146,750. 34.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in AST SpaceMobile by 61.9% during 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 388.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,559 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the first quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Close Asset Management Ltd raised its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 72.4% in 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 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.