AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Trading Down 3.3% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• AST SpaceMobile's stock has decreased by 3.3%, trading at about $52.44 after previously closing at $54.22.
• Analysts have rated AST SpaceMobile as a "Moderate Buy", with a consensus target price of $45.34, indicating a mix of buy and hold ratings from various research firms.
• Recent insider trading reveals that COO Shanti B. Gupta and President Scott Wisniewski sold a significant number of shares, reducing their ownership stakes and indicating potential shifts in company confidence.

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 3.3% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $51.30 and last traded at $52.44. 3,312,621 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 12,201,358 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.22.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and set a $44.00 price target (up previously from $36.00) on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Monday, June 16th. Roth Capital assumed coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $42.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a report on Monday, May 5th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Scotiabank reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.40 price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $45.34.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Down 0.5%

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 10.62 and a current ratio of 10.62. The firm has a market cap of $16.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.39 and a beta of 2.27.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.17) by ($0.03). AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 23.56% and a negative net margin of 7,033.22%. The firm had revenue of $0.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AST SpaceMobile news, COO Shanti B. Gupta sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.08, for a total value of $541,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 315,667 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,389,265.36. This represents a 4.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 55,000 shares of the company's 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. Insiders sold a total of 184,250 shares of company stock valued at $6,146,750 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 34.15% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASTS. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 388.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,559 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 1,240 shares during the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. Close Asset Management Ltd grew its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 72.4% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors own 60.95% of the company's stock.

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.