AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Trading Down 6.8% Following Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• AST SpaceMobile shares fell 6.8% after Deutsche Bank downgraded the stock from buy to hold and cut its price target to $106 from $117.
• Trading volume surged to about 27.0 million shares, well above the average daily volume, as the stock traded between a low of $101.21 and a last price of $105.65.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious overall, with a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $81.33; the company also recently reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss and lower-than-expected revenue.

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) was down 6.8% on Monday after Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft now has a $106.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $117.00. AST SpaceMobile traded as low as $101.21 and last traded at $105.65. Approximately 27,009,577 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 53% from the average daily volume of 17,653,836 shares. The stock had previously closed at $113.41.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on ASTS. Wall Street Zen downgraded AST SpaceMobile from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Barclays boosted their price objective on AST SpaceMobile from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. B. Riley Financial boosted their target price on AST SpaceMobile from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Zacks Research raised AST SpaceMobile from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, New Street Research assumed coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AST SpaceMobile presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $81.33.

Insider Transactions at AST SpaceMobile

In other AST SpaceMobile news, Director Julio A. Torres sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was 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 directly owned 43,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,300,865.26. This represents a 25.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.88, for a total value of $3,555,200.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 4,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $422,180. This represents a 89.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 3,100,000 shares of company stock valued at $276,048,350 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 20.89% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of AST SpaceMobile

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 7.9% during the 4th 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 position in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter worth approximately $397,413,000. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 44.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,661,551 shares of the company's stock worth $338,569,000 after buying an additional 1,425,199 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,522,549 shares of the company's stock worth $328,749,000 after buying an additional 402,505 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,951,685 shares of the company's stock worth $287,011,000 after buying an additional 350,690 shares in the last quarter. 60.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Down 6.8%

The firm has a market capitalization of $41.00 billion, a PE ratio of -59.35 and a beta of 2.70. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $88.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.37. 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 earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.23) by ($0.43). The business had revenue of $14.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $39.01 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 24.87% and a negative net margin of 573.67%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 1952.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.20) earnings per share. Analysts expect that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

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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