AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Trading Up 14.8% - Here's Why

Key Points

• AST SpaceMobile shares jumped 14.8% on Friday, trading as high as $75.40 on volume well above average, suggesting a sharp surge in investor interest.
• Recent analyst activity was mixed: several firms raised price targets, but the stock still carries an average rating of "Reduce" with a consensus target of $82.51.
• The company has seen notable insider selling, including large sales by major shareholder Hiroshi Mikitani and CTO Huiwen Yao, while institutional investors still own about 60.95% of the stock.

Shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) were up 14.8% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $75.40 and last traded at $75.05. Approximately 22,279,658 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 43% from the average daily volume of 15,576,716 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.35.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ASTS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $117.00 price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Barclays boosted their price objective 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. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $43.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. New Street Research set a $115.00 target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $82.51.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Up 14.8%

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.88. The company has a current ratio of 16.35, a quick ratio of 16.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -56.86 and a beta of 2.60.

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

Insider Activity at AST SpaceMobile

In other AST SpaceMobile news, major shareholder Hiroshi Mikitani sold 1,690,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.42, for a total transaction of $154,499,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 29,330,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,681,362,770.10. This trade represents a 5.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were 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 approximately $422,180. This trade represents a 89.39% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 3,080,000 shares of company stock valued at $274,452,000 in the last ninety days. 30.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Calton & Associates Inc. increased its stake in AST SpaceMobile by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. now owns 13,579 shares of the company's stock worth $986,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,645 shares of the company's stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 3,283 shares of the company's stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its position in AST SpaceMobile by 18.2% during the 4th 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 valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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