AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Shares Down 2.3% - Time to Sell?

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 2.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $29.78 and last traded at $30.13. 6,240,673 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 49% from the average session volume of 12,121,719 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.85.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on ASTS. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $47.90 to $45.40 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $31.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Oppenheimer started coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, Roth Capital initiated coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $42.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, AST SpaceMobile presently 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 market cap of $9.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.71 and a beta of 2.02. 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 earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.20) earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $3.85 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Julio A. Torres sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.73, for a total value of $614,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 52,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,617,258.44. The trade was a 27.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 55,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. Corporate insiders own 34.15% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 61.9% in the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,321 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 5.9% during the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 10,244 shares of the company's stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd lifted its position in AST SpaceMobile by 72.4% in the first quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,810 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 760 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,525 shares of the company's stock valued at $171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 106.3% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,372 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,222 shares in the last quarter. 60.95% of the stock is currently 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.