AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Trading Up 6.9% - Here's Why

Key Points

• AST SpaceMobile's stock increased by 6.9% during recent trading, reaching a high of $88.68, largely driven by significant trading volume.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for AST SpaceMobile, with four analysts giving a Buy rating, several downgrades, and an average price target of $45.27.
• Despite recent performance, the company reported a loss of $0.41 earnings per share for the last quarter, missing the estimated consensus of ($0.19).

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 6.9% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $88.68 and last traded at $86.79. Approximately 19,354,046 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 60% from the average daily volume of 12,130,749 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.20.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ASTS shares. UBS Group lowered shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Scotiabank lowered shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector underperform" rating and set a $42.90 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $37.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Zacks Research raised shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $45.27.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Up 6.9%

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's 50 day simple moving average is $50.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.63. The company has a market cap of $31.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -45.92 and a beta of 2.41.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by ($0.22). AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 7,213.90% and a negative return on equity of 26.81%. The business had revenue of $1.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 million. Sell-side analysts expect that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AST SpaceMobile

In related news, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction on 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $192,755. The trade was a 89.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 20,000 shares of AST SpaceMobile stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.48, for a total transaction of $1,049,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 397,485 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,860,012.80. The trade was a 4.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 34.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alphabet Inc. bought a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the 1st quarter worth $203,375,000. Rakuten Group Inc. bought a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the 1st quarter worth $705,398,000. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the 1st quarter worth $14,750,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 20.5% in the 1st quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 39,737 shares of the company's stock worth $904,000 after acquiring an additional 6,753 shares during the period. Finally, Sender Co & Partners Inc. raised its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 44.8% in the 1st quarter. Sender Co & Partners Inc. now owns 295,376 shares of the company's stock worth $6,717,000 after acquiring an additional 91,352 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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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