AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Trading Up 10.7% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Shares jumped 10.7% to about $70.68 on Wednesday on heavier-than-normal volume (~17.95M shares), yet analysts remain cautious with a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $82.51.
• Insider selling has been significant: CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares and major shareholder Hiroshi Mikitani sold 1,690,000 shares (~$154.5M), with insiders selling 3.08M shares (~$274M) in the last 90 days while still owning 30.9% of the stock.
• The company missed EPS (reported -$0.26 vs. -$0.18 expected) despite revenue rising ~2731% year-over-year, and remains unprofitable with a negative net margin (~482%), negative ROE, a market cap of ~$27B and a negative P/E (-53.55).

Shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) were up 10.7% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $71.49 and last traded at $70.68. Approximately 17,946,783 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 16% from the average daily volume of 15,445,703 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.87.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on ASTS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $117.00 price objective on AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. B. Riley Financial cut their price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $105.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $43.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Friday, March 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $82.51.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 16.27, a current ratio of 16.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $27.00 billion, a P/E ratio of -53.55 and a beta of 2.60. The business has a fifty day moving average of $86.52 and a 200 day moving average of $83.14.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.18) by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $54.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.53 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 482.16% and a negative return on equity of 23.02%. The business's revenue was up 2731.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.99 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.88, for a total transaction of $3,555,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 4,750 shares in the company, valued at $422,180. This represents a 89.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Hiroshi Mikitani sold 1,690,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.42, for a total value of $154,499,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 29,330,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,681,362,770.10. This represents a 5.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,080,000 shares of company stock valued at $274,452,000. 30.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Calton & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. now owns 13,579 shares of the company's stock worth $986,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,645 shares of the company's stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 3,283 shares of the company's stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 923 shares of the company's stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 39.0% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 513 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.95% of the company's stock.

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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