AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Trading Down 7.3% - What's Next?

Key Points

• AST SpaceMobile, Inc. saw its stock price drop by 7.3% to $41.91, with trading volume decreasing by 50% compared to its average.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on AST SpaceMobile, with a consensus target price of $45.98 and several analysts issuing reports suggesting both "buy" and "hold" ratings.
• The company reported a significant earnings miss for the last quarter, with a loss of ($0.41) EPS compared to the expected loss of ($0.19), alongside revenue of just $1.16 million against an estimated $6.37 million.

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) dropped 7.3% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $41.57 and last traded at $41.91. Approximately 5,824,605 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 50% from the average daily volume of 11,597,292 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.22.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank decreased their price target on AST SpaceMobile from $45.40 to $42.90 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Bank of America assumed coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research raised AST SpaceMobile from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and set a $44.00 target price (up previously from $36.00) on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $45.98.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average price is $49.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 8.23 and a current ratio of 8.23. The company has a market capitalization of $15.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.15 and a beta of 2.43.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $1.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 26.81% and a negative net margin of 7,213.90%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.48, for a total transaction of $1,049,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 397,485 shares in the company, valued at $20,860,012.80. This represents a 4.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Shanti B. Gupta sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.08, for a total value of $541,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 315,667 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,389,265.36. This represents a 4.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 149,250 shares of company stock valued at $5,721,250. Insiders own 41.80% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ASTS. Flagship Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 2.8% in the second quarter. Flagship Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,106 shares of the company's stock worth $426,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 0.5% during the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 56,619 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,646,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 25.2% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,826 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Tsfg LLC raised its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 37.0% during the second quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 1,370 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 2.4% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,641 shares of the company's stock valued at $759,000 after buying an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.95% of the company's stock.

About AST SpaceMobile

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.

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