AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Trading Up 2.5% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• AST SpaceMobile shares increased by 2.5% on Tuesday, with a trading volume of 18.15 million shares, significantly higher than its average volume.
• The company has a consensus rating of "Hold" among analysts, with a consensus target price of $45.27.
• Recently, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 20,000 shares of the company at approximately $52.48 per share, indicating a decrease in his ownership position.

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) shares shot up 2.5% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $76.00 and last traded at $74.75. 18,154,653 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 52% from the average session volume of 11,935,161 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.90.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASTS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. William Blair started coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Scotiabank downgraded AST SpaceMobile from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector underperform" rating and set a $42.90 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $45.27.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $26.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -39.55 and a beta of 2.41. 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's 50 day moving average is $48.58 and its 200 day moving average is $38.69.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at AST SpaceMobile

In related news, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 20,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 397,485 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,860,012.80. This trade represents a 4.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.58, for a total value of $1,623,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 4,750 shares in the company, valued at $192,755. This trade represents a 89.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 41.80% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in AST SpaceMobile by 61.9% in the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,321 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc purchased a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 388.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,559 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chapman Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.95% of the company's stock.

AST SpaceMobile Company Profile

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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