AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Trading 7.7% Higher - Here's Why

Key Points

• AST SpaceMobile shares rose 7.7% to $63.52 in Monday trading, with volume of about 11.6 million shares—36% below the average daily volume.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: the stock has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $87.60, while recent targets range from $50.80 to $108.
• The company’s latest quarterly results missed expectations, reporting a $0.66-per-share loss versus a projected $0.23 loss and revenue of $14.73 million versus $39.01 million expected, despite revenue growth of 1,952.2% year over year.

Shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) traded up 7.7% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $65.12 and last traded at $63.52. Approximately 11,644,456 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 36% from the average daily volume of 18,244,295 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.98.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASTS has been the topic of a number of research reports. 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. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. New Street Research set a $106.00 price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $108.00 price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "sector underperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $50.80 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AST SpaceMobile presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $87.60.

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $24.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -35.69 and a beta of 2.69. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.26. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by ($0.43). AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 24.87% and a negative net margin of 573.67%.The business had revenue of $14.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.01 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.20) earnings per share. AST SpaceMobile's revenue was up 1952.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AST SpaceMobile

In related news, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 45,809 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.81, for a total value of $4,297,342.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 503,619 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,244,498.39. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Julio A. Torres sold 15,000 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.34, for a total transaction of $1,145,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 43,239 shares in the company, valued at $3,300,865.26. The trade was a 25.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 105,809 shares of company stock valued at $9,748,492. Corporate insiders own 20.89% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of AST SpaceMobile

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Calton & Associates Inc. grew its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. now owns 13,579 shares of the company's stock valued at $986,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,645 shares of the company's stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 923 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 39.0% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 513 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 6.6% in the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,638 shares of the company's stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.95% of the company's stock.

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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