AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Trading Up 3.5% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• AST SpaceMobile's stock (NASDAQ:ASTS) increased by 3.5% to close at $46.57, with a significant decrease in trading volume.
• Research firms have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for AST SpaceMobile, with target prices ranging from $42.90 to $55.00.
• Insider selling has occurred recently, with the CTO and President selling a combined total of 54,250 shares valued at approximately $1.93 million.

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) shares were up 3.5% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $46.79 and last traded at $46.57. Approximately 2,055,761 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 11,816,043 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.98.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on ASTS shares. B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $44.00 price target (up from $36.00) on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Monday, June 16th. UBS Group boosted their price target on AST SpaceMobile from $38.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. William Blair started coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a report on Thursday. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Scotiabank cut their price target on AST SpaceMobile from $45.40 to $42.90 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on AST SpaceMobile in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $48.41.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Up 4.6%

The firm has a market capitalization of $16.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.90 and a beta of 2.33. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $49.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.41.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.19) by ($0.22). The firm 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 analysts forecast that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AST SpaceMobile

In related news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 4,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.60, for a total transaction of $147,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 20,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $717,950. This represents a 17.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Scott Wisniewski sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.65, for a total transaction of $1,782,500.00. Following the sale, the president directly owned 545,595 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,450,461.75. This trade represents a 8.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 129,250 shares of company stock worth $4,671,650 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 34.15% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of AST SpaceMobile

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the 2nd quarter worth $306,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the 2nd quarter worth $47,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the 2nd quarter worth $520,000. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the 2nd quarter worth $3,161,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its position in AST SpaceMobile by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 112,825 shares of the company's stock worth $5,272,000 after purchasing an additional 7,746 shares during the period. 60.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.