AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Stock Price Down 2.1% - Here's What Happened

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) shares fell 2.1% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $24.12 and last traded at $24.26. 3,322,619 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 12,510,053 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.78.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $7.35 billion, a PE ratio of -10.95 and a beta of 2.05. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $23.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 5.80 and a quick ratio of 5.80.

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

Insider Activity at AST SpaceMobile

In other news, Director Julio A. Torres sold 20,000 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.73, for a total value of $614,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 52,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,617,258.44. The trade was a 27.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 55,000 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction dated 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. 34.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 5.9% during the 1st 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 raised its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 72.4% during the 1st quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,810 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 760 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 15.6% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,525 shares of the company's stock valued at $171,000 after buying an additional 1,016 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 106.3% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,372 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,222 shares during the period. 60.95% of the stock is currently owned by 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.