AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Trading Up 11.8% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• AST SpaceMobile shares jumped 11.8% in Tuesday trading, reaching as high as $111.28 and seeing volume above its daily average. The move appears tied more to broader strength in space stocks than to company-specific news.
• Investor sentiment remains mixed: some coverage points to long-term upside from direct-to-cell satellite demand, but other commentary raises concerns about monetization and whether meaningful revenue will arrive on time. Analysts currently lean cautious, with an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $81.33.
• The company’s fundamentals remain weak, highlighted by a quarterly earnings miss, negative margins, and losses well above expectations. Insider selling has also been notable, even as institutional investors such as Vanguard, Morgan Stanley, and State Street hold significant stakes.

Shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) were up 11.8% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $111.28 and last traded at $118.1080. Approximately 27,106,142 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 6% from the average daily volume of 25,667,236 shares. The stock had previously closed at $105.65.

AST SpaceMobile News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting AST SpaceMobile this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AST SpaceMobile was highlighted as one of the space stocks benefiting from a broad sector split, with shares rising in Tuesday trading alongside other space-related names. Virgin Galactic Crashes 32% on Settlement Dilution Fears, AST SpaceMobile Rises 10%, Planet Labs Climbs 9%
• Positive Sentiment: Longer-term demand for direct-to-cell satellite service could support the investment case, as a Juniper Research study projected monthly active D2C users could grow sharply through 2031, with AST SpaceMobile named as an entrant in the market. Direct to Cell: Monthly Active Users to Reach Over 130 Million by 2031, But Usage Forecast to be Lower Than Anticipated
• Neutral Sentiment: One note said the recent move reflects a broader risk-on/risk-off swing in space stocks rather than company-specific news, so ASTS remains tied to sentiment in the sector. Space Stocks Slide Again As ETF Drops Nearly 10% In Two Days
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage pointed to lingering concerns about AST SpaceMobile’s path to monetization, including an analyst move pushing the coverage timeline out to 2028 and questioning whether intermittent coverage will generate meaningful revenue in 2027. ASTS, RKLB, LUNR, RDW, RKTO Extend Slide Premarket After Blue Origin Blowup — Analyst Pushes AST Coverage Timeline To 2028

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ASTS shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $81.33.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Up 11.8%

The business's 50-day moving average price is $88.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 18.47 and a quick ratio of 18.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -66.35 and a beta of 2.70.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.66) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.23) by ($0.43). AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 24.87% and a negative net margin of 573.67%.The firm had revenue of $14.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.01 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.20) earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1952.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AST SpaceMobile

In related news, major shareholder Hiroshi Mikitani sold 1,350,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.22, for a total value of $116,397,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 27,980,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,412,448,964.10. This represents a 4.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Julio A. Torres sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $3,300,865.26. This represents a 25.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 3,100,000 shares of company stock valued at $276,048,350. Insiders own 20.89% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of AST SpaceMobile

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

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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