Julio Torres Sells 15,000 Shares of AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Stock

Key Points

• AST SpaceMobile director Julio Torres sold 15,000 shares on Wednesday, May 13, at an average price of $76.34, generating about $1.15 million. After the sale, he still held 43,239 shares worth roughly $3.3 million.
• The company missed Q1 earnings expectations, reporting a loss of $0.66 per share versus the expected loss of $0.23, and revenue of $14.74 million versus the $39.01 million consensus estimate. Despite strong year-over-year revenue growth, profitability metrics remained deeply negative.
• Wall Street sentiment remains cautious, with analysts assigning a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a price target of $79.45. At the same time, AST SpaceMobile is drawing attention from major institutional investors and could benefit from the new U.S. wireless-carrier satellite-to-phone joint venture trend.

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) Director Julio Torres sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.34, for a total value of $1,145,100.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 43,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,300,865.26. This represents a 25.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Performance

ASTS traded up $8.20 on Thursday, hitting $83.01. 27,097,476 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,150,535. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.47 and a 12-month high of $129.89. The company has a 50 day moving average of $85.27 and a 200-day moving average of $82.89. The company has a quick ratio of 16.27, a current ratio of 18.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.71 billion, a PE ratio of -46.63 and a beta of 2.60.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.66) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by ($0.43). The company had revenue of $14.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $39.01 million. AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 573.67% and a negative return on equity of 24.87%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1952.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.20) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

AST SpaceMobile News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting AST SpaceMobile this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The new wireless-carrier joint venture could expand the market for satellite-based mobile connectivity and indirectly support demand for AST SpaceMobile’s technology. Spooked By Musk's SpaceX, Big Three Wireless Firms Forge Satellite-To-Phone Joint Venture
• Positive Sentiment: AST SpaceMobile publicly welcomed the AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile announcement, reinforcing the idea that its business model is gaining industry relevance. AST SpaceMobile Commends Proposed Direct-to-Device Joint Venture by U.S. Mobile Network Operators
• Neutral Sentiment: New Street Research launched coverage of several space-related stocks, including AST SpaceMobile, which may increase investor attention but does not by itself change fundamentals. New Street Research Launches Space Economy and Infrastructure Coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Recent commentary also highlighted that AST SpaceMobile is still facing execution risk after its Q1 earnings miss, which could limit how long the rally lasts if growth targets are not met. Should ASTS Stock Be Part of Your Portfolio Post Q1 Earnings Miss?

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vodafone Ventures Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile during the 4th quarter worth $397,413,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the 4th quarter valued at about $198,270,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 13.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,919,888 shares of the company's stock valued at $977,668,000 after purchasing an additional 2,351,539 shares during the period. Clear Street Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AST SpaceMobile in the third quarter valued at about $90,129,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in AST SpaceMobile by 44.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,661,551 shares of the company's stock worth $338,569,000 after buying an additional 1,425,199 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $117.00 target price on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 price target on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AST SpaceMobile from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $79.45.

About AST SpaceMobile

AST SpaceMobile is a U.S.-based aerospace company developing a space-based cellular broadband network designed to connect standard mobile phones and other devices directly to satellites. The company's core proposition is “space-to-cell” service: operating a constellation of low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites equipped with large, high-power phased-array antennas to provide wide-area mobile broadband without requiring users to buy specialized terminals or handset modifications.

AST SpaceMobile designs, builds and operates satellite payloads and supporting ground infrastructure.

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