AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Key Points

• AST SpaceMobile received an upgrade from Zacks Research, moving from a "strong sell" to a "hold" rating, reflecting improved analyst outlook on the stock.
• Several other analysts have varying ratings on the stock, with UBS Group raising its price target significantly from $38.00 to $62.00, while Scotiabank decreased its target from $45.40 to $42.90.
• Despite a market capitalization of $13.78 billion, AST SpaceMobile reported a quarterly EPS of ($0.41), missing expectations, and indicated a negative net margin of 7,213.90%.

Zacks Research upgraded shares of AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Free Report) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on ASTS. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $38.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile from $45.40 to $42.90 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Finally, Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $48.41.

AST SpaceMobile Trading Up 4.6%

ASTS stock traded up $2.09 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $47.07. 6,521,172 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,621,618. The company has a current ratio of 8.23, a quick ratio of 8.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $49.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.18. AST SpaceMobile has a one year low of $17.50 and a one year high of $60.95.

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). AST SpaceMobile had a negative return on equity of 26.81% and a negative net margin of 7,213.90%.The company had revenue of $1.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 million. Research analysts anticipate that AST SpaceMobile will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AST SpaceMobile news, President Scott Wisniewski sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the president owned 545,595 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,450,461.75. The trade was a 8.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Shanti B. Gupta sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.08, for a total value of $541,200.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 315,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,389,265.36. This trade represents a 4.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 129,250 shares of company stock valued at $4,671,650. 34.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of AST SpaceMobile

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in AST SpaceMobile by 61.9% during the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,321 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 505 shares during the period. Binnacle Investments Inc bought a new stake in AST SpaceMobile during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in AST SpaceMobile by 388.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,559 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240 shares during the period. Finally, Chapman Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 60.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.