AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Trading Down 1.3% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Shares fell 1.3% midday to $87.09 (intraday low $83.91) on volume of ~9.86M shares, about 37% below the average daily volume.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed with an overall MarketBeat average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $63.77 (2 Buy, 6 Hold, 3 Sell analysts).
• Q1 results showed a revenue beat ($54.31M vs. $39.53M estimate; revenue +2731% YoY) but an EPS miss (-$0.26 vs. -$0.18 estimate), and the company remains unprofitable despite a $31.96B market cap.

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 1.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $83.91 and last traded at $87.09. Approximately 9,863,398 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 37% from the average daily volume of 15,544,230 shares. The stock had previously closed at $88.21.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Zacks Research raised shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Monday, December 29th. B. Riley Financial lowered their target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $105.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Scotiabank cut shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector underperform" rating and set a $45.60 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $63.77.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Down 1.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 16.35 and a quick ratio of 16.27. The company has a market capitalization of $31.96 billion, a P/E ratio of -65.98 and a beta of 2.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $96.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.03.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.18) by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $54.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.53 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 23.02% and a negative net margin of 482.16%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 2731.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AST SpaceMobile

In related news, Director Keith R. Larson purchased 715 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $70.02 per share, with a total value of $50,064.30. Following the acquisition, the director owned 1,390 shares of the company's stock, valued at $97,327.80. This represents a 105.93% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 30.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of AST SpaceMobile

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,488,180 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,560,687,000 after acquiring an additional 1,568,292 shares during the last quarter. Vodafone Ventures Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter worth approximately $397,413,000. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 44.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,661,551 shares of the company's stock worth $338,569,000 after purchasing an additional 1,425,199 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,522,549 shares of the company's stock worth $328,749,000 after purchasing an additional 402,505 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,951,685 shares of the company's stock valued at $287,011,000 after purchasing an additional 350,690 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.95% of the company's stock.

AST SpaceMobile Company Profile

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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