AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Shares Down 5.5% - Here's What Happened

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 5.5% on Friday. The stock traded as low as $31.34 and last traded at $32.60. 14,277,570 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 15% from the average session volume of 16,818,951 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.50.

Key AST SpaceMobile News

Here's some of the latest news about ASTS:

• Neutral Sentiment: Firefly Aerospace reported sharply higher quarterly revenue, with its growth supported in part by a $1.3 billion AST SpaceMobile deal. This highlights activity between the companies, but does not remove execution and funding risks. Article
• Negative Sentiment: AST SpaceMobile reported a quarterly loss of $0.44 per share, worse than the $0.41 loss analysts expected, and revenue of $42.32 million versus estimates of $45.73 million. The miss has added to selling pressure.
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts’ implied fair-value estimate was reported to have fallen from $74.28 to $66.18 amid concerns including launch timing, financing needs and competition. Article

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ASTS. Citigroup reissued a "positive" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Tuesday. B. Riley Financial cut their price target on AST SpaceMobile from $65.00 to $48.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Scotiabank raised AST SpaceMobile from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $50.80 to $55.70 in a report on Friday, October 23rd. William Blair restated a "market perform" rating on shares of AST SpaceMobile in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank upgraded AST SpaceMobile from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $93.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $72.70.

AST SpaceMobile Stock Down 5.5%

The company has a market capitalization of $12.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.31 and a beta of 2.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $50.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 13.65 and a quick ratio of 12.90.

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 9th. The company reported ($0.44) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.41) by ($0.03). AST SpaceMobile had a negative net margin of 439.71% and a negative return on equity of 22.00%. The business had revenue of $42.32 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.73 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.45) earnings per share. AST SpaceMobile's revenue for the quarter was up 187.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. will post -1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AST SpaceMobile news, Director Adriana Cisneros acquired 10,822 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $57.22 per share, with a total value of $619,234.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 797,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,605,656.06. This represents a 1.38% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Huiwen Yao sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.93, for a total value of $2,357,200.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 34,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,047,817.50. This represents a 53.51% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 20.89% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AST SpaceMobile

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 140.3% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,644,246 shares of the company's stock worth $136,259,000 after buying an additional 960,045 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 14.3% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,316,852 shares of the company's stock worth $109,128,000 after buying an additional 164,303 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 9,876.8% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 1,049,061 shares of the company's stock worth $93,220,000 after buying an additional 1,038,546 shares in the last quarter. Tema ETFs LLC lifted its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 109,486.8% during the 2nd quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 1,003,815 shares of the company's stock worth $89,199,000 after buying an additional 1,002,899 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AST SpaceMobile by 32.4% during the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 1,376,109 shares of the company's stock worth $80,998,000 after buying an additional 336,502 shares during the last quarter. 60.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AST SpaceMobile Company Profile

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. develops a space-based cellular broadband network designed to connect directly with standard mobile phones, without requiring users to purchase specialized satellite devices. Its planned services include voice calls, text messaging and mobile broadband, delivered through partnerships with mobile network operators and integrated with their existing networks. The company is developing and deploying its BlueBird satellite system to provide coverage in areas where terrestrial cellular networks are unavailable or limited.

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