AST SpaceMobile Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:ASTS)

Key Points

• AST SpaceMobile experienced a significant increase in options trading with 143,203 call options purchased, surpassing the usual volume by approximately 31%.
• Insider selling included COO Shanti B. Gupta and CFO Andrew Martin Johnson, who sold shares totaling approximately $1.47 million combined, reducing their ownership by 3.17% and 4.79% respectively.
• Institutional investors own 60.95% of AST SpaceMobile, with notable new stakes from Alphabet Inc. and Rakuten Group valued at over $200 million and $700 million, respectively.

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock traders bought 143,203 call options on the stock. Thisrepresentsanincreaseofapproximately31% compared to the typical daily volume of 109,394 call options.

Insider Activity at AST SpaceMobile

In related news, COO Shanti B. Gupta sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.84, for a total transaction of $418,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 305,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,789,107.28. The trade was a 3.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew Martin Johnson sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.48, for a total value of $1,049,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 397,485 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,860,012.80. The trade was a 4.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,250 shares of company stock worth $1,615,050 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 34.15% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of AST SpaceMobile

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASTS. Alphabet Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the first quarter worth approximately $203,375,000. Rakuten Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the first quarter valued at approximately $705,398,000. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the first quarter valued at about $14,750,000. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in AST SpaceMobile by 117.5% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 51,874 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,095,000 after purchasing an additional 28,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank bought a new position in AST SpaceMobile in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,220,000. 60.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AST SpaceMobile Price Performance

NASDAQ:ASTS traded down $1.64 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $40.77. 20,202,957 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,676,909. AST SpaceMobile has a 12 month low of $17.50 and a 12 month high of $60.95. The company has a market capitalization of $14.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.57 and a beta of 2.43. The company has a quick ratio of 8.23, a current ratio of 8.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $49.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.66.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.41) earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.37 million. Sell-side analysts expect that AST SpaceMobile will post -0.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASTS has been the topic of a number of research reports. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and set a $44.00 price target (up previously from $36.00) on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Monday, June 16th. UBS Group raised their price objective 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. Bank of America began coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. William Blair began coverage on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $45.98.

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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